



uBa^:°;.S^««« 



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THE- 



MOUNTAIN Campaigns 



^.t r^. ■ ir ^ vo 



IN GEORGIA^ 



OR- 



War Scenes on the W. & A. 



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Entered according; to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord iSSo, 

Hv JOS. M. CROVVX, 

In the office ol tlie Librarian of Congress, at Washington. D. C. 




Akt-Prtnting Works or Mattiie«.s. Xorteiri-p & Co., Buffalo, N. V. 

iSS6. 



THE OPINIONS OK 



Gen. WM. T. SHERMAN AND GEN. JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON 

ABOUT THE 

'■'Mountain Campaigns in Georgia, or War Scenes on the IV. & A." 



FROM GEN. IF. T. SHERMAN. 



912 Garrison Avenue, 
Jos. M. Brown, Esq. St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 18, 1SS6. 

Wcsterii &• Atlantic R. H., Atlanta, Ga. 

My Dear Sir : I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January t4th, with the embel- 
lished pamphlet entitled " The Mountain Campaigns in Georgia," and take great pleasure in 
complimenting you on having made so condensed and valuable a souvenir of the old State Railroad 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta. 

The maps are admirable, the illustrations are characteristic, and the text as near the truth as can 
be compressed in so small a space. I am willing to endorse what you record — that the Atlanta 
Campaign of 1864 would have been impossible without this road, that all our battles were fought 
for its possession, and that the Western & Atlantic Railroad of Georgia "should be the pride of 
every true American," because, "by reason of its existence the Union was saved." 

I infer you have prepared this costly pamphlet to induce travel by this route, and I will add 
that the scenery will fully repay every lover of nature's beauty and sublimity ; that every foot of 
it should be sacred ground, because it was once moistened by patriotic blood ; and that over a 
hundred miles of it was fought a continuous battle of one hundred and twenty days, during which, 
day and night, were heard the continuous boom of cannon and the sharp crack of the rifle. 

I sincerely wish for you, and all like you, all success, prosperity and happiness, in these days of 
peace, made possible by the deadly struggles between Chattanooga and Atlanta in the summer of 
1864. With great respect, your friend, 

W. T. SHERMAN. 



FROM GEN. JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON. 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 18, 1886. 
Jos. M. Brown, Esq. 

Mv Dear Sir: Your letter of the 14th, and the beautiful "War Scenes" that came by the 
same mail, were received this morning, and I thank you for them most cordially, not only for the 
pleasure they have already given me, but because you put before the public an excellent historical 
sketch in so attractive a form as to secure for operations most interesting to me the attention of 
our Southern people. I have seen no publication relating to the war so attractive in style and 
appearance. 

With friendly regards to your brother, I am. 

Yours very truly, 

J.E. JOHNSTON. 



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All Colored People 

GO TO SANSAS, 

On Sepfomber Sfh, 1877, 

Can do so for $5.00 



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Whbrkas, We. the colored peopk- »f Le^in^ou, Ky^ (c-vjwing ih«l iherc is an 
abundance of I'hon.*; lan.ts now Iwlongtng to the Go^ernfnent, ha* r as^embicJ ourjclvet 
together for the porfKife wf tut.ttmu on ^ahI \»nds Therefore, 

Be tT KssoLvgD. That w^e dw now *jrgnnizt oiiTBclves into a Colony, at loilow^ _ 
Anj person wishing; to become ^ member of this Colony can do xi by paying the sura of 
one dollar (£t oo), and this money is to be paid by the ftr^t of Scptemtwr, 1S77, m msui- 
menls of tweniy-live cents at a iimc, or othcrwiw at may be 6viiTie4. 

Rksolvcd. 'I hai this Co(oo) has agrceij to con«ohdwe itwrll with the Nicodfoiui 
\ Towns, Solotnwn V.iHej, GrahAni Corunly, Kanuis. aod can only do so by enK-nog the u- 

* cant lands now in their midst, which costs $5 00. 

Rbsolvsd, That tbis Colooj i^ll cotistst of teven officen — Prnident. Vice-Presi- 
dent, Secfertrv', Treaaurer, and three Truiteea. President— M. M Bell; Vvce- Preiident 
— ItaAC Talbon; Seirelarj- — W J Nile*; Treasurer — Daniel Clarke; Truateei— jerry 
Le<, William jonca, and Abntf Webster 

RtsOLven, That this Colony Jihall have frotn one to t<«o humlfed tntlina, nore at 
l««s, as the case may require, to keep peace and order, nod any nwmUcr ^liny to pay m |^ 

his due*, u alofcsaxl, or ^liug to comply with the above r«le9 ia any pamculv, will not ^H 

tl oc Kvogniard or protected hy the Colony. ^H 



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•PREFACE- 



THE AUTHORITIES principally consulted in preparing the text of this publication 
are "Johnston's Narrative," "Sherman's Memoirs," Cox's "Atlanta," and magazine 
articles by General S. G. French, and Major Geo. S. Storrs, and the daily files of the 
Atlanta lutclligcuccr. issued during the years of 1S63 and 1864. 

The cuts, which were prepared b\' Mr. A. R. Waud, who personally visited all of the 
battlefields depicted, and by Messrs. T. de Thulstrop and Joseph Fleming, have been 
drawn with scrupulous regard to historic accurac)', as well as artistic skill, and engraved 
by Matthews, Northrup & Co., of Buffalo, N. Y. The maps, drawn and engraved by 
Matthews, Northrup & Co., of Buffalo, N. Y., are based on the authority of Sherman's 
maps of the Atlanta campaign, with corrections when proper, and speak for themselves 
as models of their kind. 

If there be errors of fact, or aught else subject to criticism herein, it is hoped that 
lenient judgment will be passed, when it is taken into consideration that the matter 
has been prepared during onh- such time as could be snatched from that required for 
supervision over the freight and passenger traffic of a railroad, the most of whose 
business is competitive. 







™ MOUNTAIN 










'-1 fc=- ^ — . 



r '- 

5^ 




^ or WarVeeney or\ the W- <£-A*^| 




N NONE of the campaigns of the gigantic "War between the States" was 
there a more notable displa\" of adroit, wary, far-reaching strategic genius, and 
prudent, patient, watchful care on tlie part of the great commanders; of zeal- 
ous, skillful and fearless leadership by their field officers, or of more heroic bravery, 
fortitude and cheerful endurance by the soldier}^ than in those of 1863 and 1864, during 
which the world became familiar with the names of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, 
Ringgold, Rocky Face, Dalton, Resaca, Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain and Atlanta. 

Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Rosecrans, Thomas, McPherson, Schofield, Hooker, Corse, 
Blair, Harker, Kilpatrick, Stoneman, and a half score of others scarcely less famous, on 
some or all of these fields directed and led the hundred thousand and upwards, who 
followed the "bright starry banner" of the Union; while Bragg, and afterwards Johnston, 
with Hardee, Hood, Polk, Longstreet, Cleburne, Breckenridge, Buckner, Forrest, French, 
Walthall and Wheeler, with brother-chieftains as valiant and de\-iited, showed that the 
South had sent her brainiest and bra\-est to endeaxor, with their fifty thousand men, to 
stem the tide of invasion which was rolling through Georgia, the Ke)-stone State of the 
Confederacy, against Atlanta, which was then, as now, considered the " Heart of the South." 

To the essayist, wishing to immortalize with his pen the great deetls of great men, here 
is opened one of Histor_\-'s favorite chapters; to the artist, eager to depict the romantic and 
picturesque in warfare, here, too, is displayed the scenery which thrills the emotions; while 
to the patriot, who delights to speak of the achievements of men who dared face death 
fi>r their countr\-, their cause and their flag, here is shown the theatre of their toils and 
their glory. 

With these few reflections, let us now turn immediately to the record of the stirring 
events between Chattanooga, Kennesaw Mountain and Atlanta, which twenty-two years 
ago were the cj-nosure of the e}-es of the ci\-ilized world. 

Earl)' in September, 1863, General Rosecrans succeeded in capturing Bridgeport, Ala., 
thus securin<T a crossincf over the Tennessee River. 



12 



MOUXTAIX CAJfPAIGXS IX CRORGIA. 



He then pushed Thomas and McCook, with their corps, across Sand Monntan: and 
Lookout Mountain, into Georgia, and obtained possession of the passes leading into 
McLcmore's Cove, from which West Chickamauga Creek flows northeastward, anel, joining 
the main Chickamauga, empties into the Tennessee Ri\-er just east of Cliattanooga. 

This made their position in 
Chattanooga a perilous one for 
tile Confederates, inasmucli as 
Rosecrans's movements, if carried 
out successfuhy, wiuild have se- 
curetl for him possession of Dal- 
ton and Rome, and thus broken 
ISragg's commimications with At- 
hmta, and forced him to ha\-e 
retreated tlirougli East Tennes- 
see, and left Georgia at the mercy 
of the Federal arms. 

As one of the Soutliern news- 
papers of tliat day- said, of tlic 
game of military ciiess whicli was 
tlien being played, "The enemy 
attacked with his Knight bnth 
our Queen, Atlanta, and our 
Castle, Chattanooga. Did it re- 
quire a moment to decide what 
should be the move ? " 

Bragg accordingly evacuated 
Chattanooga on September 7, 
1863. and retired to a position 
between Ringgold and Graysville, on the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and La Fayette, 
in Walker count}', west of the railroad. His main army was posted along the road leading 
from Gordon's Mill to La Fayette, facing the passes through which Rosecrans was about 
to make his entrance into McLemore's Co\e. 

On the 9th of September, the I-'etleral army occupied Chattanooga. During the next 
ten daj's there was almost daily skirmishing, anil, on some occasions, vigorous fighting, 
at various points between Ringgold and La Fayette. There was also a sharp cavalry 
contest at Catoosa Springs, near the Western & Atlantic Railroad, September i ith, which 
resulted in the retreat of the Confederates to Tunnel Hill, where they received re-enforce- 
ments. At Ringgokl a heavy cawdry fight also ensued on September iith. TJie 
Confederates were at first driven into the town; but here rallied, and, under General 
Forrest, repulsed the h'cderals, and drove them off in disorder. 

The two armies were maneu\x'ring for j^osition — Rosecrans being resolved to hokl 
Bragg off, imtil he could secure such a disposition of his own as was essential to success; 




GEN. WWI. T. SHERMAN. 



;f'J/C SCE.V£S ox THE W. & A. 



13 



while Bragg, on the contrary, was determined to force an engagement at the earhest 
attainable date, with the object of crushing Rosecrans's army, in a general engagement, if 
it were at all possible. 

It is not practicable, in our limited space, to give scarcely any of these movements 
in detail. 

On the iSth of September 
was fired the first gun of what is 
known as the great battle of 
Chickamauga. The position i)f 
the two armies that morning, in 
brief, was as follows: 

Rosecrans occupied the 
northwest bank of West Chicka- 
mauga Creek, his line extending 
along its sinuous course for a 
dozen miles or more, guarding 
all the fords, bridges, or other 
places of transit, for the purpose 
of preventing a crossing by the 
Confederate arm)-. 

The Confederates were on 
the southeast side of the creek', 
which is very muddy and gener- 
ally very deep ; and Bragg's idea 
was to force his way over, at 
various points, and fight the bat- 
tle on the Chattanooga siile of 
the creek. 

At Reed's Bridge, in Catoosa 
county, Ga., some seven miles west of Ringgold, a detachment of Michigan cavalry was 
stationed, with orders to prevent any advance by the Confederates. Ha\ing been there 
for a day or more, their commander determined, that morning, to send abc:iut 200 mounted 
men across the bridge, for the purpose of making a reconnoissance, and developing the 
Confederate position. At the same time he ordered that the planks be loosened, so 
that, when the cavalry returned, these could be dropped into the creek, and the bridge 
thus practically destroyed. The detachment crossed the stream, as ordered, and the 
work of loosening the planks was commenced by the others. 

The scouting party, however, had scarcely begun deplo}'ing on the east side of the 
creek before the Confederates, who had been watching them some couple of hundred yards 
distant, at the edge of the woods on the summit of the elevation rising from the bridge, 
opened fire, from a couple of pieces of artillery. The very first discharge secured the 
range of the bridge, and a bombshell exploding upon it, knocked up some of the planks. 




\m^\ 



14 JIOl'XTAIX CA.MJ'AIGXS I\ GEORGIA. 

and killed one man, and wonnded two others. Almost at the same instant a volley 
of musketi}' was fired from the same position. 

The work of destruction of the bridge by the h'etlerals instantly ceased, and there 
was a stampede for co\er to the forest near bw The detachment of cavalry on the east 
bank, seeing the foil}' ol attempting to cross the bridge under a raking fire, galloped 
northe.istward, down the creek, emleavoring to find some other crossing place. After 
going about a mile and a half ami finding no regular ford, the}' swam their horses through 
the stream, ani.1 thus escaped. 

In the meantime, the Confederates charged across the bridge, dispersed the cavalry, 
and immediately turned downward, towards Alexander's Bridge, about one mile and a half 
distant, and, after quite a struggle, possession of this was also secured. 

Later on, during the da)-, crossing was effected at several other points. Accordingh', 
the next morning found ]>ragg's arm}-, in line of battle, on the northwest side of West 
Chickamauga Creek. 

The struggle then began, which continued with such desperate fury, and resulted in 
such distressing carnage to both sides, during the next three tla\'s. 

Bragg"s object seems to iiave been to crush Rcjsecrans's left «'ing, and secure posses- 
sion of the road leading through Missionary Ridge, via Rossvillc, to Chattanooga. 

The result of the battle is well known. Rosecrans's army was routed and tlriven back 
to Chattanooga ; and, but for the stand \\hich General Thomas took, on Snodgrass Hill, 
and his heioic defence of that position, and the check -which he ga\-e to the Confederates 
at that point, the defeat of Rosccrans \\(_uild have been a crushing one, and the sweep of 
the Confederate advance ma}- have extended back to Kentuck}-, and ha\-e almost changed 
the fate of the war. " But great battles are fought bchiml the stars." 

The struggle at Snodgrass Hill \\-as desperate and blood}- in the extreme, and was 
characterized as being " uncjuestitmabl}- one of the niost terrific musketr}- duels e\'er 
witnessed"; but Thomas, having been re-enforced by Granger and Steadman, who had 
moved, ^\ ithout orders, to join him, held this position until all the rest of the Federal line 
of battle had been routed, and onl}- retreated on the evening of the 20th, under orders 
from General Rosccrans himself. 

The total losses sustained have never been definitely ascertained ; but it is generall}- 
estimated that there were o\-er 26,000 men killed and wounded in the two armies, during 
these bloodv three da\-s, on and near the banks of the Chickamauga, or " River of 
Death," as the Indians h.id propheticall}- named it. 

Among the killed \\'as the Federal General Lytle, the author of the famous and 
beautiful poem, " I am d}-ing, Egypt, dying." 

Of his death, the A'irs/ivi//c Union, a few days after the battle, said : 

" He, with hundreds of his loyal soldiers, has consecrated with his life-blood the soil 
of Georgia to the Republic. Let us solemnly pledge ourselves that the State tiius baptized 
by blood so dear shall never pass from the possession of the Union. It is our heritage and 
the heritage of our children forever, signed to us in the name of freedom and sealed with the 
blood of patriots." 



JJ'AR SCENES OX THE W. & A. 



lo 



The Confederates captured 8,000 prisoners, 51 cannon, over 15,000 stand of small 
arms, about 40 standards, and an enormous amount of army stores. 

The battle-field was prnicii)all\' in a level, thicklyrwooded plain, wliere it was hard to 
use artiller)- with much effect, and where the mo\"ements of larye bodies of troops were 
veiled in obscurit\'. 

It is stated that there were numerous instances of where portions of one army's line 
were driven back by its enem\-, and these, in turn, would soon find themselves caught by a 
cross-fire, or almost surrounded b}' a counter successful movement by the other side. 




THE FIRST GUN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 

September iS, iSbj. 

The Confederates openin};^ tire upon the Federal caval^J^ who had begun the destruction of Reed's Bridge. 

The Strength of Rosecrans's army, during the three days' struggle, was 64,392 men. 
Bragg opened with 33,583 the first da)-; but, during the second, was re-enforced by Long- 
street's corps, which had just arrived from Virginia, and which made his total force 
engaged 47,321. 

Longstrcet's troops arrived via the Western & Athmtic Railroad, and deployed from 
the trains at Ringgold and Greenwood, just below, and hurried into tlie midst of the fray. 

As the result of this battle, the Federal army was driven back into Chattanooga; 
and the Confederates occupied Missionary Ridge and Lonkout Mountain, from which 



16 MOLjXTAIX CAMPAIoXS in GEORGIA. 

latter they could overlook Chattanooga, and by the possession of which they were 
enabled to break Rosecrans's comimmications b}- rail with Nashville. They also re- 
occupied Bridgeport. 

Thus matters continued for two months, during which there was great suffering 
among the Federal soldiery, in Chattanooga, on account of the difficulty in getting 
provisions, stores, etc., across the country in wagons. 

B)' the end of that time, however, the Union army had been very largely re-enforced, 
and General Grant had come to Chattanooga and taken personal command. He also had 
with him Generals Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, McPherson, Hooker, and other leaders of 
national reputation for marked abilit}-. 

In the meantime, Bragg had sent Longstreet's corps to Kno.xville, for the purpose of 
reducing that ixiint, ami repossessing East Tennessee. 

This movement had weakened his numbers at Chattanooga very materially ; so that 
when, on the morning of November 24, 1863, General Grant made his attack upon Bragg, 
with about 65,000 of the best-equipped and bravest soldiers in America, the latter con- 
fronted him w ith a line extending about se\-en miles from the crest of Lookout Mountain, 
across the gap between that and Missionary Ridge, and thence along the summit of 
Missionary Ridge, almost to the present Boyce Station, on the Western & Atlantic 
Railroad, with a total force of scarcely more than 35,000 men. 

During the night of November 24th, Hooker's corps clambered through the clouds, 
concealing its movements, up the sides of Lookout Mountain, which was held by Walthall's 
brigade of Confederates. 

The Confederate force, tluring the early portion of the night, consisted of 1,489 men. 
7\t about midnight they received re-enforcements of about 600 more. The fight continued 
fierce!)', amid the thick mists which completely eriveloped the steep ami craggy heights, 
until about twi) o'clock A. M. of November 25th, when the mountain was abandoned by 
the Confederates, who retired, in comparative!)- good order, down its sides across Chat- 
tanooga Cree!-: Valley to Missionar)- Ridge. Several hundred of them, liowever, were cut 
off and cai:)tured. During the latter part of the fight the clouds drifted from the moun- 
tain side, exposing the majestic panorama to the e)-es of the Confederates on Missionary 
Ridge. The view from tlie Ridge is said to have been magnificently grand, the flashings 
and blaze of musketry and artillery being almost incessant, while, like distant angr)' 
thun(_ler, the re\'erberations rolled far across the hills and down the long valleys. 

On the miirning of tlie 25th, the combat began all along the line for about a half a 
dozen miles. The exolutiims of tlie I-'ederal ami)', on tlie pl.iin below, were describeil by 
the Confederates as being as regular as upon dress parade. The assault was impetuous; 
but for several hours it appeared as if the Confederates would hold ths position. Sher- 
man's attack upon the Confederate right met .1 masterly repulse at the hands of the lion- 
hearted Cleburne. The assault w.is renewed w itli ilesperate energ)' ; but again Cleburne 
held his own, against fearful odds, hurling back the attacking columns with great loss, and 
capturing seven stands of colors. General Hardee, who commanded the Confederate right 
wing, was at all points along his front as the terrific struggle progressed. His troo[)s had 



' JV* \ch l<hmauaaS<a ' R r/ a n i c v\/ c™«;,..s-a Jf*;>f ,^ '^ 



„' JV \Ch l<hmauqaS<a ' B r/ A D L E yVV:"'""'""'^ 

"^M" IR MGGOLD / 




18 ilOUXTAI.V C.-IJ/J'A /(;XS IN GEORGIA. 

repulsed the Federal attack upon them wherever made, and were cheeriijg for victory at the 
very moment Grant's cnlunms were breaking through the Confederate left center, and 
rending the air witli their enthusiastic shouts. General Hardee discovering the catastrophe, 
galJDped to his left, and formed Jackson's and Moore's brigades across the ritlge, and 
checked the Federals on his flank, and, with Cheatham's division, held this till dai'k, when 
he drew off his entire command, in good order and without the loss of a single gun in any 
of his batteries. 

Soon after the Confederate center was broken, at about four P. M., the entire line 
except the right gave wa\- ; and the result was a disastrous rout of Bragg's army, with a 
loss of about 40 pieces of cannon, 6,000 prisoners, and 3. 100 killed and wounded. The 
loss of the Federal arm_\- in killed and wounded was 5,286 men, besides ny missing. 

The next da)' there was a ver_\' spirited conflict near Chickamauga Station, on the 
Western & Atlantic Railroad. The Confederates were partially intrenched, but soon 
abandoned the position. 

That e\-ening the head of Sherman's columns encountered the rear-sfuard of BraijCT's 
retreating arm\- near (jra\'s\ille, also a station on the railroad. The fight was tjuite sharp; 
but a dark night closed upon the combatants, and, during the night, the Confederates 
retired."" 

The ne.xt da\- Hooker, rapidl}- pursuing, found General Cleburne, with his and a 
portion of Bate's divisions, at Ringgold. Cleburne had stationed his forces on the ridge 
just southeast of Ringgold, and in the ravine by which the Western & Atlantic Railroad 
passes through it. The Confederates had several pieces of artillery on the crest of the 
ridge, immediately east of the town, and also a masked battery in the ra\-ine. The 
Federal head of culumn p.issed this latter: but suddenh', in this mo\nitain pass, discov- 
ered the Confederate intrenchments in front, from -which a destructixe fire was opened 
upon them. As the)- \\-ere thus thrown into disorder, the masked batter)' opened upon 
their flank; and the)' were compelled to retire precipitate!)' to the plain, in which the 
town is located. 

They here formed and made a determined attack upon the Confederates at all points. 
The fighting in the ra\-ine through which the railroad runs, and in the counter ra\'ine at 
the nnrthern end of the short ridge extending from the pass, several hundred )'ards 
parallel to the railroad, was ver)' desperate and bloody. The assaulting cnlunms made 
son-ie progress up the sides of the ridge, w-hen the fire from the Confederate line became 
so destructive, and the r(.illing of huge rocks down the mountain slope threw the assailants 
into such confusion, and inflicted such loss, that they were compelled to gi\-e over the 
attack. Hooker's forces then fell back from the town, burning it as they departed. 

This vigorous resistance, on Cleburne's part, temporarily checked the pursuit of 
Bragg's army, and sa\'ed a very large wagon train, which had been paiked at Catoosa 
Station, and which the Confederates were j-ireparing to burn, in the event that Cleburne 
was dri\-en back from l\.iiiggold. 

■*Graysville was also the scene of a hot fight between Wheeler's Confederate cavalry and the Federals, on August i6th 
of the same year. This was during the siege of .\tlanta, and Hood h.ad sent Wheeler to raid Sherman's communications. 



ll'AK SC£XJ-:S ON THE W 



A. 



19 



^ff~'^~-'^->\^l^i Sta. JIAP OF 

Ui ^-»^. -CHATTANOOGA- 



One of the relics of this bloody struggle is the Jobe house, which stands in the 
northern end of the pass, on the west side of the railroad. 

On the day of the battle, some of Hooker's men took shelter in this, and, from the 
windows and doors, maintained a hot fire upon the Confederates on the ridge and in the 
pass. The latter in return kept a storm of bullets pouring upon the house, the numerous 
marl-cs of wliich are still plainly visible. 

The next day, the Confederates, who had retired to Tunnel Hill, were assailed by the 
Federal forces with a courage 
almost amounting, it is said, to 
rashness; but they held the posi- 
tion, and the Federals then re- 
tired to Ringgold, and afterwards 
to Chattanooga, tearing up the 
railroad behind them, thus leav- 
ing the beautiful Chickamauga 
Valley as a sort of neutral zone 
between the hostile forces. 

From that date, there was 
comparative quiet between the 
two armies for nearly three 
months; but, on the 23d of Feb- 
ruary, 1S64, the Federals made a 
movement in heavy force, with 
the intention of securing posses- 
sion of Dalton, if possible, while 
the Confederate army was weak- 
ened by the absence of Hood's 
corps, consisting of Cheatham's, 
Cleburne's and Walker's divisions, which had been sent to Mississippi to re-enforce 
General Polk. 

Just here it is proper to state that, during the winter, General Bragg had been relieved, 
at his own request, from the command of the Confederate army of Tennessee, and the 
Richmond government, in compliance with almost the open demand of .Southern popular 
opinion, had appointed General Joseph E. Johnston to succeed him, and he had proceeded 
to Dalton and assumed command December 27, 1863. 

Later on, General Grant had been appointed Lieutenant-General of the armies of the 
United States, and had transferred his head-quarters to Virginia; and had designated 
General Wm. T. Sherman as his successor over the Department of the Mississippi, which 
included Tennessee and Georgia. General Sherman entered upon his duties March 18, 
1864, General Thomas having liad temporar}^ charge of the Federal forces at Chattanooga, 
after General Grant proceeded east, just as General Hardee had temporaril)' commanded 
the Confederate army at Dalton, after General Bragg's retirement. 




l-fRlttllNQ WORKS, BUFI>' 



21) .I/cU'.\'/'.i/-V CAMPA IGXS IX GEORGIA. 

The Federal columns, February 23d, united in front of Ringgold, and advancing, 
attacked the Confetlerate ca\-alr_\-, and, after a sharp fight, dro\'e it from the village of Tun- 
nel Hill to the heiglits be)'ond ; but A\ere here checked by the artillery fire, and fell back. 

The next da_\', the Federal arm\- adx-anced in three columns, and compelled the Con- 
federates tn retire. The latter took position in Crow A'.illey ( l>'iiig east of Rock)' Face 
Rid""e and north c)f ]\Iill Creek Gap). The Federals encamped in the valle_\- immediateh' 
west i)f tile pass tlndugh which the railroad runs. 

On the morning (if the 25th, the Federal skirmishers engaged Stewart's and Brecken- 
rido'e's di\-isions in ]\Iill Creek Gap. and desultory firing was maintained throughout the 
dav. This culminated in a determined but unsuccessful attem])t to storm the position 
that afternoon. 

During the same afternoon a \cvy obstinate fight toolc place between the two armies, 
the di\-isions of FJa\is and lohnson attempting tn dri\'e the Confederates from Mill Creek 
Gap, while Cruft"s and Baird's di\isions, with Long's ca\'alry, attacked five brigades of 
Hindman's and Ste\'enson's di\"isions, east of Rocky Face Ridge, with the intention of 
defeating these, if possible, and then attacking in the rear the Confederate force which 
was holding Mill Creek Gap against Da\-is and Johnson: but at night the Federals gave 
over the attempt and fell back. 

During this same day, the Confederate guard, posted in Dug Gap, west of Dalton, 
was dri\-en from it b\- a regiment of Federal mounted infantry; but the ne.xt morning 
Granberr\-'s Te.xas brigade made an impetuous charge, and recaptured tlie position. 

General Johnston says that in this engagement, " The Federal army had four divisions 
and six regiments — probably at least sexenteen brigades: it encountered se\-en Confed- 
erate brigades on the 25th. and eleven on the jfith." 

General Thomas's report of these operations sustains General Johnston's estimate of 
the Federal force. 

Tliere was no other engagement between the two armies, until Sherman opened the 
" Atlanta Campaign," during the first week in May, 1864. 

On the 2d da\- of this nmntli, the Federals made a close reconnoissance of the Con- 
federate outpost at Tunnel Hill, under the protection of a strong bod_\' of infantry, 
cavalry and artiller\-. The\- also began repairing the Western & Atlantic Railroad, 
between Chattanooga and Ringgold, which had been torn up the previous winter. 

It may be here remarked that the Western & Atlantic Railroad was the means of 
securing the fall of Atlanta, and, therefore, to a great degree, the overthrow of the 
Southern Cnnfederac}-. It was Sherman's only channel for supplies for his immense arm\-, 
and, during the campaign, he hugged it with a tenacity which showed that he considered it 
indispensable to success. His flank mo\ement through Snake Creek Gap was to gain 
possession of it at Resaca, in the rear of Johnston at Dalton ; his mo\-e ag.iinst Calhoun, 
south of Resaca, via La}-'s Ferr_\', had the same end in \'iew. Such, likewise, was his 
object, indirectly, in the skillfully-planned and masterly march and struggles about New 
Hope Church, and such was his immediate aim in the movement southwest of Marietta, 
after the failure of his grand and heroic assault upon Kennesaw Mountain. 



Jl'AR SCENES ON THE ll\ & A. 21 

One hundred and forty-five car-loads per day of supplies were needed for the subsistence 
of his army, during the campaign, and over this railroad they were transported from 
Chattanooga. 

To insure its preservation, as he progressed farther and farther southward, he placed 
garrisons to protect each bridge. 

Johnston, too, was fully alive to the supreme importance of this line to both armies, 
and, while his constant endeavor was to protect it behind him, it was also his most ardent 
desire to find some means for breaking it in Sherman's rear ; and thus forcing upon the 
latter the alternative of retreat or starvation. To this end he and the Governor of 
Georgia made the strongest appeals to the Richmond government for Forrest's cavalry to 
be brought from Mississippi and kept actively at the work of destruction upon the railroad 
bridges, etc.; using the argument that it was better to take the risk of Federal raids in 
northern Mississippi than to lose the opportunity of forcing into disastrous retreat the 
invading army which was driving its advance like a wedge of steel into the very heart of 
the Confederacy. 

These entreaties, however, were without success, and the Western & Atlantic Rail- 
road, despite Sherman's constant apprehensions of the realization of Johnston's wish, 
remained the chief means by which the invasion was sustained, and crowned with the fall 
of Atlanta. 

As a prominent Federal authority said, after the war, to a Western & Atlantic official, 
'■ The Union element cannot be too thankful for the fact that your road was in existence." 

" Then," was the remark, " the W. & A. road should be the pride of every true 
American, if by reason of its existence the Union was saved." 

At the date of the opening of the great Atlanta Campaign, Sherman had a total force 
of 98,797 men and 254 cannon, divided as follows: Army of the Cumberland, under 
Major-General Thomas, 60.773 nien, and 130 field guns; Army of the Tennessee, under 
Major-General McPherson, 24,465 men, and 96 guns; Army of the Ohio, under Major- 
General Schofield, 13,559 me"- ^'tJ 28 guns. These were further subdivided into 88, 1 88 
infantry, 4,460 artiller\-men, and 6,149 cavalry. 

Johnston had 42,856 men and 120 cannon; the men being divided as follows: infantry 
37,652, artillerists 2,812, and cavalry 2,392. He says of his cannon, however, that onl_\- 
about one half of them were effective for service, because of the bad condition of the 
horses, by reason of the scarcity of food during the winter. Within a few days Sherman 
was re-enforced by about 14,000 cavalry, which swelled his total effective force to 112,819 
men. All of these figures are official. 

Added to these were the re-enforcements which the two armies received during the 
campaign, which were as follows: By Sherman, Blair's corps, 9,000 men at Acworth, June 
8th, besides " new regiments and furloughed men " not enumerated ; by Johnston, Canty's 
division of 3,000 at Resaca, May 9th, Loring's of 5,000, at the same point, May nth, and 
French's of 4,000, at Cassville, on May i8th — these three comprising Polk's corps — also 
Martin's division of cavalry, 3,500, May 9th, Jackson's division of cavalry, 3,900, at 
Adairsville, Ma)- 17th, and Ouarles's brigade of 2,200, at New Hope Church, May 26th. 



22 J/cWXTA/X CAMPAIGXS IX (Jf.OKGlA. 

While fighting around Kciincsaw Mountain, General Johnston also received rc-cnforce- 
ments of over 3,000 Georgia militia, which Governor Joseph E. Brown, the "War Gov- 
ernor" of Georgia, placed at his disposal. 

During the entire campaign, Go\-ernor Brown, now United States Senator from 
Georgia, and President of the Western & Atlantic Railroad Compan}-, ver)^ zealoush- and 
energetically seconded General Johnston in e\-ery attemjit to check and repel Sherman's 
invasion of the State. 

The highest number of men which Johnston had at an}- time was 59,248, at Kennesaw 
Mountain. 

Of the opening of this campaign. General Johnston says: 

"On the 5th, the Confederate troops were formed to receive the enemy: Stewart's and Bate's 
divisions, in Mill Creek Gap, in which they had constructed some slight defensive wtirks — the former 
on the right of the stream, Ciieatham's on Stewart's right, occupying about a mile of the crest 
of the mountain; Walker's in reserve ; Stevenson's across Crow Valley; its left joining Cheatham's 
right, on the crest of the mountain; Hindman's, on the right of Stevenson's; and Cleburne's, 
immediately in front of Dalton, and behind Mill Creek, facing towards Cleveland. 

" On the same day the Federal army was formed in order of battle, three miles in front of 
Tunnel Hill, and in that position skirmished with our advanced guard until dark. It was emploved 
all of the next in selecting and occupying a position just beyond the range of the field-pieces of 
the Confederate advanced guard, on which it halteil for the night. * * * 

".'\t day-lireak, on the yth, the Federal army moved forward, annoyed and delayed in its 
advance by dismounted Confederate cavalry firing upon it from the cover of successive lines of 
very slight entrenchments, prepared the day before. Its progress was so slow, that the Confederates 
were not driven from Tunnel Hill until eleven o'clock A. M., nor to Mill Creek Gap until three 
P. M. In the afternoon the Federal army placed itself in front of the Confederate line, its right a 
little south of Mill Creek Gap, and its left near the Cleveland road." — (Johnston's Narrative, 
pages 304, 305.) 

General Sherman says of Johnston's position : 

" From Tunnel Hill, I could look into the gorge by which the railroad passed through a 
straight and well-defined range of mountains, presenting sharp palisade faces, and known as 'Rocky 
Face.' The gorge itself was called the 'Buzzard Roost.' We could plainly see the enemy in this 
gorge and behind it, and Mill Creek which formed the gorge, flowing toward Dalton, hatl been 
dammed up, making a sort of irregular lake, filling the road, thereby obstructing it, and the 
enemy's batteries crowned the cliffs on either side." — (Memoirs, Vol. II., page 32.) 

About four o'clock the next da\-, Gearj-'s division of Hooker's corps assailed the Con- 
federate outpost in Dug Gap; but two small regiments of Reynolds's Arkansas brigade, 
under the command of Colonel W'illiamson, held the position, until the}- were joined b}- 
Grigsby's Kentuckians. 

The constant firing indicated a serious attack; so much so that Lieutcnant-General 
Hardee hastened to take personal charge of the defence. The Federals were repulsed at 
this point, and at Mill Creek Gap, and likewise in their attack upon the Confederate posi- 
tion on the crest of the mountain, about a mile and a half north of the gap. 



24 liJOUXTAIN CAJ/rA/oXS JX GEORGIA. 

General J. D. Cox, of Sherman's arm)', thus refers to this attempt on Dug Gap : 

"deary's division of tlie Twentieth Corps made a strong effort to carry the summit of Rocky 
Face at Dug Gap, but were foiled by the same physical difficulties which baffled all other attempts 
along this palisaded ridge. The skirmishers advanced, scrambling over the rocks and through the 
undergrowth, till, already blown and nearly exhausted, they found themselves facing a perpendicular 
wall with only cliffs and crevices leading up through it, the narrow roadway whii h had been their 
guide being strongly held by the enemy and intrenched. A gallant effort was made to reach the 
crest, but the smaller force of Confederates was led by General Hardee in person, and held their 
natural fortress." — (■' Ailanta," page 35.) 

On the 9th, another attempt, more vigorous and by a larger f(.)rce, was made upon the 
outposts upon the crest of Rocky Face Ridge. This attack" \\ as led by Marker's brigade 
of Newton's division (Fourth CorpsK supported by the rest of the division, and by Judah's 
division of the Arm\- of the ( Jhio. The h'ederals Avere dri\'en back with loss, after making 
five assaults. 

Of this struggle. General Cox thus wi'ites: 

"The view of the combat above was an exc iting one. The line of blue coats couki be seen 
among the rocks, nearl_v at right angles wuh the line of the ridge, the men at the top in silhotu-tlc 
against the sky, close up to the Confederate trenches, where their charges were met with a line of 
fire, before which they recoiled, only to renew the effort, till it became apparent even to the most 
daring that it w as useless to lead men against such barriers." — (".\Tl.A\'rA," ])ages 37, j.S.) 

Similar assaults were also made upon Stew.irt's and Bate's divisions in INlill Creek Gap; 
but the Confederates maintained their position. 

On this same day quite an important fight occurred at Resaca, between two brigades 
of Confederates, under General Canty, and the Army of the Tennessee, umler Major-Gen- 
eral McPherson, who had made a flank mo\'cnient through .Snalce Creek- tia]), for the 
purpcise of capturing the town and railroad britlge, in Johnston's rear, which lasted till 
dark, and resulted in the repulse of the Federals. 

During the night. General Johnston sent down Hood's corps of three dix'isions, under 
Generals Ilindman, Cleburne and Walker, and fimling these too strong for him, ]\IcPhers(m 
retreated to Snake Creek Gap and intrenched. 

Snake Creek Gap, which playetl so imixirtant a jiart in this moxeriient, and in sha[)ing 
the general results of the campaign, cannot be better described th.in in the folliiwing 
cjuotation, also, from Gener.il Cox: 

" Snake Creek is an insignificant branch of the Oostanaula, running southward between high 
and rugged ridges, which, on the east, are neariv continuous w iili Rocky Face, and are known by 
the general name of Chattoogata Mountains. ( )n the west the parallel range is called Horn 
Mountain. A watershed half wav from Tunnel Hill to the ()i>stanaula separates the sources of 
Mill Creek from those of Snake ('reck, and this divide is properly the .gap. Tlie whole pass, 
however, is known In' the name, and is a wild and |iictuns([iie dellle, fi\e or six miles long. Hardly 
a cabin was to be seen in its whole length. The road w.is oulv such a track as coinitrv wagons had 
worn in the lied of the stream or along the foot of tlie mountain. The forest shut it in, .•nid only 
for a little while at middav did the sun enter it. Xear ifs southern extremity * * * it 
reached the more (}pcn countr\' bi>rileriug the ri\'er, which here rinis fur a little way neariv west, 
and roads branch off to Resaca, eastward, and southward to Calhoun, ttu'ning the south end of 



U\iK SC/iXJiS OX THR 11'. .v ./. 2.^ 

the precipitous ridges, which guard Dalton on the west. Resaca itself stands in the elbow at the 
junction of the Connasauga witii the Oostanaula, and on the north banic of the latter stream. 
Camp Creek, another small stream, tlows into the river just west of the village, and the high 
plateau bordering it and the more rugged hills between it and the Connasauga a little further 
north, made it a very strong place for the intrenched camp which the Confederate commander had 
prepared there." — ("Atl.\nt.'v," pages 35, 36.) 

General Sherman says of this engagement that McPherson : 

,c * * * [.,j^j| ,.,f^(- (lone the full measure of his work. He had in hand twenty-three thousand 
of the best men of the army, and could have walked into Resaca (then held only by a small 
brigade), or he could have placed his whole force astride the railroad above Resaca, and there have 
easily withstood the attack of Johnston's army, with the knowledge that Thomas and Schofield 
were on his heels. * * * Such an opportunity does not come twice in a single life; but at the 
critical moment McPherson seems to have been a little timid. Still he was perfectly justified by his 
orders, and fell back, and assumed a defensive position in Sugar Valley, on the Resaca side of 
Snake Creek Gap. As soon as I was informed of this, I determined to pass the whole army 
through Snake Creek Gap, and move on to Resaca with the main army." — (Sherji.^n's Memoirs, 
Vol. II., pages 34, 35.) 

During the next da\-, another attempt was made upon the Confederates at Mill Creek 
Gap ; but resulted in a P'ederal repulse. 

On the evening of the iith. General Johnston ordered General Wheeler to move, at 
da)-light the next day, around the end of Rocky Face Ridge, towards Tunnel Hill, with 
all his available cavalry, to ascertain if the movement southward by the Federal army had 
been a general one. General Ilindman was instructed to support Wheeler with his divi- 
sion. The Confederates encountered Stoneman's cavalry at this point, and drove them 
back, with a loss to the latter of 150 men and some 400 loaded wagons. 

This reconnoissance confirmed the impression that almost the entire Federal army was 
marching toward Snake Creek Gap, on its way to Resaca. 

Accordingly, Dalton * was evacuated the next da\' by the Confederate arm\-, which 
retired to Resaca. 

"The Federal armv ajiproaching Resaca on the Snake Creek Gap road, was met about a mile 
from the place by Loring's division, and held in check long enough to enable Hardee's and Hood's 
corps, then just arriving, to occupy their ground undisturbed. As the army was formed (in two 
lines) Polk's and Hardee's corps were v.est of the place and railroad, facing to the west; the former 
on the left, with its left resting on the Oostanaula. Hood's corps extended from Hardee's right 
across the railroad to the Connasauga, facing to the northwest. 

"There was brisk skirmishing all the afternoon of May 13th on Polk's front, and that of 
Hardee's left division — (_'heatham's." — (Johnston's N.\rrative, pages 309, 310.) 

Earh- the next da\-, the skirmishers became engaged along the entire line, begin- 
ning on the west. "Those of Polk's corps, from some unaccountable mistak'e, abandoned 
their ground, which was regained onh- b\- great personal eH'm-ts on the part of their field 



*On August 15, 1S64, Dalton was captured by Wheeler's cavalry, who were raidinor Sherman's communications. 
The Confederates secured 200 prisoners and destroyed considerable army stores, etc., and then went northward. 

Da-iton was also captured by Mood's army, on its grand retrograde movement, after the fall of Atlanta, There was 
a sharp fight south of the town. The Confederates here captured the garrison, a regiment of negro troops. This was 
on October 13, 1S64. 



26 



JIO UX TA J A' LA MPAIGXS IX GE OR GIA. 
"" A \iy,>i-(ius assaLilt was made upon Ilindniaii's division; but the assail- 



officcrs. '■■ * 
ants were repulsed." 

Later on during the day, Lieutenant-General Hood was ordered to attack the Federal 
left, with Stewart's and Stevenson's divisions. This nio\-ement began about six o'clock in 
the afteniiion. antl was conducted b\' the Confederates with admirable precision and vigor, 
and before dark the Federal left \\'.is di-i\en from its gmund. 

Late in the afternoon, the Federals, under McPherson, however, drove Polk's advanced 
lines from the hill in front of his left, which commanded the Western & Atlantic Rail- 
road bridge o\^er the Oostanaula. 

During the night, the Confederates, uuLler the direction of Culonel Prestman, the chief 
en^nneer, made a road, ami pi. iced a pontoon bridge across the river, about a mile above 

that commanded by the Federal 
artillery. 

C)n the I 5th, sharp skirmishing 
commenced early, along the whole 
line, and continued throughout 
the da\-. Several determined 
attacks were made upon Hind- 
man's position ; in the last, espec- 
iall}-. the assailants exhibited the 
utmost bravery, many of them 
reaching the Confederate in- 
trenchments. 

The Federals here charged 
across a broad meatlnw, from the 
co\-er of a wiioded ridge, and 
assaulted the Confederates on 
the o|)ii(isite ridge: but, after a 
blood)- struggle, A\eie repidsed. 
Seeing that they would be sub- 
jected to a destructi\'e fire in 
crossing the valley again, a large 
p(irti<ni (if them took refuge be- 
hind the steep sides nf a sort of 
spur ridge in front nf the main 
one, and there remained until 
after dark", befo'-e \-enturing back 
to their former positions. 
About noon, a strong force of PYderal ca\alry captured the hospitals ot Hood's corps, 
which were loc.ited east of the Connasauga River. [Major-General Wheeler, with iVllen's 
and Hume's brigades, made a gallant attack, and dr^ive off the Federals, however, and 
pursued them two miles, capturing two standards and some prisoners. 




28 MOrXTA/X CAMPAIGXS /X GEORGIA. 

During the forenoon. Major-Gcneral Stevenson was directed by Lieuteiiant-General 
Hood to advance anti mask a four-gun batter_\- some eight}- \-ards in fnmt of his hne of 
infantrv. wliicli was near the Western & Atlantic Raih'oad, north of Resaca. Before 
Stevenson liad arranged proper!}- to support it, General Hood ordered him to open its 
fire. This was done, and a furious attack was immediate!}' made upon it by Hooker's 
corps, whicii was facing Hood's at this point. The guns were abandoned b}- the Confed- 
erates, and a \'ery spiriteil tiglit for tlieir possession ensued, w liich resuUed in tlie Federals 
being driven back from them b}' the fire of the Confeder.ites ; but they found shelter in the 
neighboring ravine. From this position, their musketr}- commanded tlie location of the 
battery equally as well as did that of the Confederates. A \er}- hot fire was ke[)t up by 
both sides, which j5re\-entetl either from removing the guns, and the}- were consequently 
left between the two armies until dark, and afterwards seized I)}- the h\-derals. 

These were the only field trophies they captured during the entire campaign to the 
Chattahoochee Ri\-er. 

At abiiut fiiur P. AI. General Stewart, whose division was (jii the Confederate right, was 
ordered to attac]< the I'ederals, and endeaNor to force their line back. General Stevenson 
was to support him w ith his division. Hearing of the La}-'s h'err}- movement, b}- Sher- 
man, howe\'er, General Johnstcm revoked the order ft.>r this assault. The last order dill 
not reach Stewart in time. His troops left their intreiichmeiits and tlashed forward in 
the face of a terrible fiie. Not being supported b}^ Stevenson, whti had receivetl General 
Johnston's order, Stewart's men were repidsed with loss. 

During the afternuon, (ieiieral Johnston received notice th.it the Federals had secured 
possession of La\''s (or Tanner's) I'err}', nearly three miles west of Calhoun, and were 
crossing the Oostanaula River in force. 

His communications with Athuita, therefore, being rendered too hazardous, Johnston 
evacuated Resaca during the night. ■" 

The Confederate arm}-, in withdrawing, crossed the river on the railrciad bridge and on 
the pontoon bridge one mile abnve it. General Stewart's division covered the retreat, 
remaining in position after the retiring of the other troops on their left had opened to the 
Federals the wa}- to Resaca and their rear. General Stewart himself was the last i-nan to 
cross the pcmtoon bridge, which was then destro}-ed. 

The movement which fmceil this .iction on }i)hnston's part, resulted in a fight at 
Lay's (or Tanner'si hV-rr}-, im iMa}- 14th, whereb}- the I'ederal forces secured a crossing, 
but took no further fcjiwanl step. 

The course of the river, alnmst parallel to the Western & Atlantic Railroad, protected 
this advance from Johnsti>n's pi)v\er of discov-ery or successful resistance. 

On the 15th, Jacksiii-i's hrig.ule of Confederates assaulted the Federals, who were 
encamped east of the C)ostanaul.i, but met a bloody repulse. 



* There was also a vigorous fight at Kesaca between the Confederate cavalry and the Federal garrison. October 
12, 1S64. The Confederates were repulsed. The nc.\t day General llood appeared with his army before the town 
and demanded its surrender. The demand was refused, and, finding an assault hazardous, Hood moved northward 
against Ualton. 



/('J A' SC£A'£S OX THE W. & A. 29 

On the i6th, the Federals, under McPherson, advanced from the fcrr)-, towards 
Calhoun, driving back the cavalry; but soon came in collision with a portion of Hardee's 
corps and, in turn, sustained a repulse. 

It may be proper here to state that after the war, in disinterring the dead at Resaca, 
there were found the remains of one hundred and seventy Confederates * and seventeen 
hundred and ninety Federals. General Sherman, in his dispatch to General Halleck, May 
15th, said : "I cannot estimate our dead and wounded up to this hour; but it will not fall 
much short of three thousand (3,000)." 

Johnston fell back to Adairsville ; but. finding that the breadth of the Oothcaloga 
Valley exceeded so much the front of his arm_\-, properly formed for battle, that he could 
obtain no advantage of ground, ordered the troops to mo\-e to Cassville. 

During thi; afternoon of the 17th, the Federals struck the Confederate rear-guard at 
Adairsville ; but, after a sharp conflict with Wheeler's cavalry and Cheatham's division of 
infantry, were checked. During the night the Confederates evacuated this position. 

Johnston, correct!}" supposing that the Federal arm)-, in pressing the pursuit, would 
divide, so as to secure passage over more than one road, ordered a vigilant watch kept, 
with the intention of endeavoring to crush one wing before the other could come to its 
relief. The Federal movement being as he foresaw, he ordered Polk to engage, in front, 
the column coming down the road b\- the railroad, and Hood to attack it in flank when 
Polk's firing began in front. Hood, however, acting on erroneous information about the 
Federal movement, made a different disposition of his line. So much time was lost in 
correcting this mistake, that the intended attack was given over, as its success depended 
upon its being properly timed. 

Of this movement, General Sherman says: 

"Thomas's head of column which had followed the country roads alongside of the railroad, 
was about four miles east of Kingston, towards Cassville, when, about noon I got a message from 
him that he had found the enemy, drawn up in line of battle, on some extensive, open ground about 
half way between Kingston and Cassville, and that appearances indicated a willingness and prepara- 
tion for battle. 

•'Hurriedly sending orders to McPherson to resume the march, to hasten forward by roads 
leading to the south of Kingston, so as to leave for Thomas's troops and trains the use of the main 
road, and to come up on his right, I rode forward rapidly over some rough gravel hills, and about 
si.K miles from Kingston found General Thomas, with his troops deployed ; but he reported that the 
enemy had fallen back in echelon of divisions, steadily and in superb order, into Cassville." — 
(Me.moirs, Vol. II., pages 37, 38.) 

On the 19th of May, Johnston took position near Cassville for \\hat he intended 
should be the great battle of the campaign. 
Of this he says : 

"The Confederate army was drawn up in a position that I remember as the best that I saw 
occupied during the war — the ridge immediately south of Cassville with a broad, open, elevated 
valley in front of it, completely commanded by the fire of troops occupying its crest. The 



* There is now a Confederate cemeterj' just above Resaca. Several hundred Southern soldiers liere " sleep the sleep 
that knows no waking;." 



30 



jiio r.y J Aix CA.]f]\ii(;xs ix Georgia. 



eastern end of this riili^e is perhaps a mile to the east of Cassville. Its southwest end is near the 
railroad, a Httle to the west of Cass Station. Its lengtli was just sufficient for Hootl's and Polk's 
corps, and half of Hardee's, formed, as usual, in two lines, and in that order from right to left. The 
other half of Hardee's tinnps prolonninij; the line, were southwest of the railroad on undulating 
ground, on whirh thev had onh' sui h ad\antaL;e as their own labor, directed by engineering, could 
give them. I hev worked with great spirit, however, and were evidently full of confidence. This 
gave nie assurance of success on the right antl in the center, where we had very decided 
advantage of ground." — (Johnston's Nakr.ative, page 322.) 

During the aftcriiDon, the Federal artiller_\- cnmnicnced firing upon Mood's and Polk's 
troops. This, with a hea\'y skirmish fire, continued until dusk. 



■"^ 





•~iA>_ 



'<«»*■' 







'.^ Mr A 








CAPTURE OF A FEDERAL WAGON TRAIN. 
Near C.'issviUe, Ga., May 24, 1864. 



Tile be lutiful \illa_,c rf Cass 
villc -was between the two lines 
Tile contest about the \ ilhge w as 
\ei\ se\ere especnlh between the 
battelles which wcle posted Ml 
the ud^es eonfi ntin^ e leh thcl 
Sh up si iimishin_, in 1 h htin_, < e 
euiic 1 n the stieets M in\ c f the 
houses \\eie i iddletl w ith balls md 
the fine college buildings, especially, 
were pierced through with shot and 
shell. Some of the dwellings were 
also fired by these and consumed. 



JVAK SCEA'/iS ON THE W. & A. 



31 



'S~^^ 



At a council of war, held that niL;ht, Generals Hood and Polk expressed to General 
Johnston their fears that they could not hold the positions assigned them, because of a 
possible enfilading fire from a Federal batterj' on the opposite ridge. General Hardee 
stated that he could hold his position, although it was a less favorable one, so far as 
the nature of the ground was concerned. 

Johnston was very unwilling to abandon the position -without a battle ; but finally, in 
deference to the judgment of two of his three Lieutenant-Gencrals, consented to do so; 
and accordingly fell back to the 
Etowah River, and crossed it the 
next da\'. 

On the 22d of the month, 
General Wheeler was instructed 
to go north of the river with his 
cavah')-, and ascertain the move- 
ments of the Federal army. He 
soon received information that 
Sherman was moving westward, 
as if to cross the Etowah near 
Stilesboro and Euharlee, and on 
the 24th, in the vicinity of Cass- 
ville, encountered the troops 
guarding a large supply train. 
A sharp fight ensued between 
Wheeler's cavalry and the Feder- 
als, which resulted in the capture 
of 182 prisoners, about 200 
wagons, with army stores, etc. 
The Confederates brought across 
the Etowah River 70 of these 
loaded wagons, with their teams, 
contents, etc., and burned the 
rest. 

The information secured by 
Wheeler showed that Sherman had evidently determined not to move directly against the 
very strong position at Allatoona Pass, on the Western & Atlantic Railroad; but to pro- 
ceed, via Dallas and Kurnt Hickorj^ against Marietta. This movement was a difficult 
one. being through a rough, densely-wooded country, with few roads and these veiy 
indifferent, and, furthermore, away from the railroad, his main channel for supplies. 

On the 23d, therefore, Lieutenant-General Hardee was ordered, by General Johnston, 
to march, by New Hope Church, to the road leading from Stilesboro through Dallas to 
Atl_anta, and Lieutenant-General Polk to move to the same road, by a route further to the 
left. Lieutenant-General Hood was directed to follow Hardee the next day. Hardee's 




nCALHOUN 



■(EWS, NOBIHSUP 



iliTINS WCiBkS, I 



32 MOUXTAIX CAMPAIGNS IN GEORGIA. 

corps reached the point designated to tliem, that afternoon. Polk's was then \\ithin four 
or five miles of it. to the east, and Hood's within four miles of New Hope Church, on the 
road to it from Allatoona. On the 25th he reached Xe\\- Hope Church early in the day. 
Learnint:; that the Federal army \\as in close ]5roximit}.-, its right at Dallas, antl its line 
extending towards Allatoona, Gener<d Hood \\as cirdered by General jnhnston to form his 
corps parallel to the road b\- which he had marched, with his centre opposite the church. 
General Polk was instructed to place his in line with it, but about fi\e miles from this 
position, on the left : anel (/ieneral Hardee was ordered to occupy the ridge extending from 
General Polk's corps across the road leading from Dallas toward Atlanta, his left division, 
Bate's, holding that road. 

During the afternoon. Hood's advanced lines, consisting of one regiment, encountered 
Hooker's corps. A gallant fight ensued ; but the Confeeiei'ates were driven back to 
Stewart's division. Late in the afternoon, heavy cannonading was opened upon Hood's 
center division, Stewart s, opposite New Hope Church. This was soon supplemented by 
an attack in line of battle by Hooker's corps, in such deep order that it presented a front 
equal onh^ to that of Stewart's first line, of three brigades. The firing at once became 
general, and the Federal adwince was \-er}' stead\- and resolute, until within some fift\- paces 
of the Confederate lines. Here, however, they paused, and then fell back. They again 
advanced, and pushed as near the Confederate line as before: but so desperate was the 
resistance, and so hot the fire of musketry and artiller}-, that the assailants were again 
compelled to retire. 

While the combat was raging, a shell from one of the Federal batteries burst between 
Generals Johnston and Hood, who were standing but a few }-ards apart, near the church ; 
but fortunate!}- neither of them was hurt. 

In this action portions of two Confederate brigades were partialh- sheltered by some 
fallen timber, which, finding near their line, the\- had hastily thniwn into position. The 
other brigade had no protection. 

The night, which came on, was ver\' dark, with hea\'_\- rains; and there was much con- 
fusion in both armies, as they were endeavoring to assume position, facing each other, 
among the thickl_\--wooded hills, and each industriously working, though in the darkness, 
to strengthen its ground against any sudden assault by its enemy. 

General Sherman sa\'s : 

" I slept on the ground without cover, alongside of a log, got little sleep, resolved at daylight 
to renew the battle, and to make a lodgment on the Dallas and .\llatoona road if possible, but the 
morning revealed a strong line of intrenchments facing us, with a heavy force of infantry and guns. 
The battle was renewed and without success." — (Mf.M(.)Irs, \'o1. II., page 44.) 

That morning, the Confederates found the I'ederal line extending much further east 
than it was the day before. 

In the afternoon, quite a sharp fight occurred between ;i large bod}- of Federal cavalry 
and Avery's regiment of Georgia cavalry. Although desperately wounded. Colonel A\ery 
continued to command, and maintained the contest until the arrival of re-enforcements, 
who held the position. 



/[ViA' SC£XJ-:S ox THE 11'. & A. 



33 



The Federals kept rapidly extending their line to their left, the Confederates beiny 
forced thereb\' to counter movements, which soon brought on another engagement. 

Late in the afternoon of the 2~th, a blood\" struggle ensued between Cleburne's di\-ision 
of Hardee's corps, aided b}- a portion of Wheeler's dismounted cavalry, and the Fourth 
Army corps of Federals, under command of General Howard, in columns six lines deep, 
near Pickett's Mill and the road leading from Burnt Hickor_\'. 

The latter assailed the Confederates \\ ith great coui 
age, and pressed forward with fortitude under fire, which will 
ever be remembered with admiration b)- those who met 
them. The two lines were at one time within twent)- paces 
of each other; but, at length, the Fedends were compelled 
to give wa\- before the terrific storm of bullets ; and fled foi 
refuge to a ravine near by. 

About ten o'clock that night, ascertaining that 
man)- of the Federal troops were in the ra\-ine before 
them, the Confederates charged and dro\-e them 
out, taking some 232 prisoners. 

The scene of the struggle was in a dense wood, 
with thick undergrowth, broken by hills and ra\"ines, 
where nothing could be observed at a distance, and 
where neither side could see what was goin<j on, ~— s 
except at the immediate point of conflict. 

The acknowledged loss of the Federals in this 
combat was about 1,500 men. Cleburne's loss was 
85 killed and ^62, wounded. 

Among other trophies, the Confederates cap- 1,,^ 

tured some 1,200 small arms. 

General Johnston records the following touching incident of this fight: 

"When the United States troops paused in their advance, within fifteen paces of the Texan 
front rank, one of their colur-bearers planted his colors eight or ten feet in front of his regiment, 
and was instantly shot dead ; a soldier sprang forward to his place, and fell also, as he grasped 
the color-staff; a second and third followed successively, and each received death as speedily as 
his predecessors; a fourth, however, seized and bore back the object of soldierly devotion." — 
(Narrative, pages 330, 331.) 

On the morning of the 28th, the Confederates, having formed the idea that the 
greater portion of the Federal army had been withdrawn to\\-ards the position in front of 
the Confederate right, determined to seize the ^\■orks opposite their left, and thus turn 
Sherman's right; but, after meeting hot resistance from artillery and infantry, were 
repulsed with a loss of se\'eral hundred men. 

This assault (b}- Bate's di\-ision of Hardee's corps) was made upon Logan's corps, 
consisting of Harrow's, Smith's and Osterhaus's tlivisions. Three guns of the First Iowa. 
battery, which had been run out near the skirmish line, were captured by the Confeder- 




\tf^\ n. 



34 MOUA-'J'AJ .\ CAMTA IGNS IN GEORGIA. 

ates; but thc\- could not take them off. The assaultiiiL; cohimns were caught by both a 
fi<int and a cross fire from the breastworks. The I'ederal General Cox says that "the 
enemy" charged up to the intrenchnients "with the most determined courage, and, tliougli 
suffering teiribh", was not thixen baclc till he hati inflicted considerable loss upon us, some 
of our bra\est and best officers being among the killed ,uul wounded." He further sa_\-s : 

"The night fnllowini^- (Mav :;oth) another effort was made against McPherson, and the alarm 
ran down the whole line. Xearlv all of Johnston's batteries opened from right to left, and skirmish 
lines were pushed up close to Sherman's works. The niu;"ht was dark, and along the centre, where 
the valley was open, the llashing arliilerv from the hillto|is, and the living and bursting shells made 
a magnificent spectacle, but it endetl in display. It drew fire enough from McPherson to [irove that 
he was still there, and this was iirobably all that the enemy intended h\ it." 

Of the general operations during this period, the two great commanders bear witness 
as follows : 

"The Federal intrencheil line was extended ilaily toward the railroad in the du'ection of 
Allatoona. A\'e endeavored to keep pace with this extension, to prevent being cut off from the rail- 
road and Marietta. But, from the great inequality of force, two or three miles of the right of ours 
was occupied by dismounted cavalrv in skirmishing order. The enemy's demonstrations against 
this part of our front led to skirmishing with Wheeler's troops, in which the latter captured above 
a hundred prisoners between the ist and 4th of June. The infantry skirmishers of the two armies 
were incessantly engageil at the same time, from right to left, when there was light enough to dis- 
tinguish and aim at a man." — { Jou.xstox's Narr..\ tivk, page 335.) 

"Meantime TliouKis and Schofield were completing their deployments, gradually overlapping 
Johnston on his right, and thus extending our left nearer and nearer to the railroad, the nearest 
point of which was Acworth, about eight miles distant. All this lime a continual battle was in 
progress by strong skirmish lines, taking advantage of every species of cover, and both parties 
fortifying each night by rille-trenches, with headlogs, man\- of which grew to be as formidable as 
first-class works of defence. Occasionally one party 01 the other would make a dash in the nature 
of a sally, but usually it sustained a repukse with great loss of life. I visited personally all parts of 
our lines, nearly every &d\\ was constantly within musket range, and though the fire of musketry 
and cannon resoundeil d.iy and night along the whole line, varying from six to ten miles, I rarely 
saw a dozen of the encmv at anv one time, and these were always skirmishers dodging from tree to 
tree, or liehind logs on the ground, or who occasionally showed their heads above the hastily con- 
structed but remarkaldy .strong rifle-pits." — (Sher^i.ax's Me.moirs, Vol. II., page 45.) 

On the 4th of June, the Federal army being concentrated principalh" on its left, near 
the railroad, and covered by its long line of intrenchnients, the Confederates abandonetl 
Allatoona and Acworth, and fell back to a new position, ne.ir Kennesaw Mountain, its 
left wing resting on Lost Mountain, and its right extending east of the Western & 
Atlantic Railroad and behind Xooiula}' Creek. 

Of this change of base. General Sherman says: 

"(Jn the 1st of June, General McPherson closed in upon the right, and, without attempting 
further to carry the enemy's strong position at New Hope Church, I held our general right in close 
contact with it, gradually, carefully, and steadily working by the left, until our strong infantry lines 
had reached and secured possession of all the wagon roads netween New Hope, Allatoona and 
Acworth, when I dispatched Clenerals Garrard's and Stoneman's divisions of cavalry into Allatoona, 



ir.iA' SCJiJV£S ON THE IV. & A. 35 

the first around by the west end of the pass, and the latter by the direct road. Both reached their 
destination without opposition, and orders were at once yiven to repair the raih-oad forward from 
Kingston to AUatoona, embracing the bridge across the Etowah River. 

"Thus the real object of my move on Dallas was accomplished, and on the 4th of June I was 
preparing to draw off from New Hope Church, and to take position on the railroad in front of 
AUatoona, when General Johnston himself having evacuated his position, we effected the change 
without further battle, and moved to the railroad, occupying it from AUatoona and Acworth for- 
ward to Big Shanty, in sight of the famous Kennesaw Mountain. * * * * 

"\A'ith the drawn battle of New Hope Church, and our occupation of the natural fortress of 
AUatoona, terminated the month of May, and the first stage of the campaign." — (Sherman's 
Memoirs, \'o\. H., pages 46, 49.) 

Thus fell AUatoona, which General Sherman calls "the gate through the last, or most 
eastern (western.^) spur of the Alleghanies." He fortified it strongly; \vith a fort on each 
side of the pass through which the Western & ^\.tlantic Railroad runs, about 120 feet 
below, and made it his secondar}- base of supplies, with Acworth as the place of issue. 

Johnston could justly- console liimself with the knowledge that the position was 
wrested from him not by' assault, nor so much by pure strategy as by "two to one;" but, 
with the coveted prize in his grasp, Sherman could wqW afford to feel independent of the 
criticism which minified the glory of the achievement. 

Just here is probably the best place to interject a short reference to a subsequent 
occurrence which has linked the name of AUatoona \\\t\\ one of the most stirring gospel 
lyrics of the English tongue. 

After the fall of Atlanta, when Hood was making his famous movement toward and 
into Tennessee, in Sherman's rear, he sent General French, with his division, to seize 
AUatoona, where General Sherman had stored over a million rations of bread. 

Learning of this mo\-ement, General Sherman signaled from MacRae's I till, at 
Vining's Station, on the Western & Atlantic Railroad, to the signal station on the crest 
of Kennesaw Mountain, and thence in turn the message was transmitted over the heads of 
the Confederates, "through the sky," to the forts on AUatoona heights, for General John 
M. Corse, at Rome, Ga., to be notified that he must at once hasten to AUatoona ^\■ith 
re-enforcements for the garrison at that important point. 

Corse, with the least possible delay, started from Rome at eight P. M., October 4, 1864, 
and arri\-ed at AUatoona at one A. M., October 5th. He brought 1,054 nien to re-enforce 
Colonel Tourtellotte's garrison of S90. thus making a total, for the defence, of 1,944. 

He found the outposts already engaged, and, as soon as daylight came, he drew back 
the men from the village to the ridge on which the two fnrts were built. 

These, b\' the way, were connected by a bridge which spanned the deep railroad cut. 

Soon thereafter a lively bombardment was opened from a Confederate battery on a 
high hill a few hundred yards to the south; and, at about eight A. AL, the assault began, 
coming from front, flank and rear. 

General Sherman says : 

"These redoubts had been located * * * ^j (-j^g |-i,-,.,g Qf q^- advance on Kennesaw, the 
previous June. Each redoubt overlooked the storehouses close by the railroad, and each could aid 



'^^ MOUNTAIN CAMPAIGNS IN GEORGIA. 

the other defensively by catching in Hank the attacking force nf tlic other. C)ur troops at first 
endeavored to hoiil some ground outside the redoubts, but were soon driven inside, when the enemy 
made repeated assaults, but were always driven back. About eleven A. M., Colonel Redfield, of 
the Thirty-ninth Iowa, was killed, and Colonel R(_>wett was wounded, hut never ceased to fight and 
encourage his men. Colonel Tourtellotte was shot through the hips, but 
^.>,» continued to command. General Corse was at one P. jSI., shot across the 
€v j^! face, the ball cutting his ear, which stunned him, luit he continued to 

encourage his men and to give orders. The enemy (about half past one 
P. M.) made a last and desperate effort to carry one of the redoubts, but 
was badly cut to pieces by the artillery and infantry lire from the other, 
when he began to draw off, leaving his dead and wounded on the 
gromid." — (Memoirs, A'i:>1. II., page 149.) 




General French's assaulting force in this battle was about 2,000 
men. The b\'deral loss, of'ficicdly iei)i>rteel, was 707 men. General 
l-'rcnch's official report shows tli.it his tnt.il loss was 799 men. He 
also states tliat the attack faileil because his ammunition gave out, as 
Hood was not aware that Allatoona was fortified, and ordered him tlicre to fill up the rail- 
road cut. The above figures, liowever. show hnw desperate were both the attack and the 
defense. The deep cut through which the railroad runs was strown with dead and 
wounded men on that fatal da)-. 

The Confederate retreat was hastened by the information received during the battle, 
that General Cox's division was rapidly approaching frmii Kennesaw Mountain, to the 
relief of the garrison, and was ch^se at hand." 

Early in the day, General .Sherman, who was on the top of Kennesaw Mountain, suc- 
ceeded in exchanging me.s.sages with the signal station on Allatoona heights. He received 
intelligence that Corse had arrived; and signaled back. " Hold the fort; for I am coming." 
From this message, and the attendant thrilling circumstances, have come the gospel 
hymn, which is now sung wherever the Engli.sh language is being used for evangelizing 
the world : 

" Ho ! my comrades, see the signal 
Waving in the sky ! 
Re-enforcements now appearing. 
Victory is nigh ! 
Chorus. — "Hold the fort ; for I am coming," etc. 

The most characteristic memorial of this bloody and famous struggle, which now 
salutes the eye of the tourist, as the train darts through the deep, fern-lined pass, is a 
lone grave at its northwestern end, immediately by the track, on the west side. This 
is the resting place of a Confederate soldier, who was buried on the spot where he fell. 

F""or years past the track-hands of the Western & Atlantic Railroad have held this 
grave under their special charge, and made attention to it a sacred duty. Whenever their 



*0n their retreat, the Confederates came to the block-house, which tlie Federals had built at the railroad bridge 
over Allatoona Creek. General French summoned the garrison to surrender. They refused, and he then opened a hot 
usketry fire upon them, and also turned his cannon against the position. These soon forced the raising of the white flag. 



m 



38 



JIOrXTAIX CAJfPAK^AS IX GEORGIA. 



periodic rounds biiiiL; them liithcr, the)- sec that it is kcjjt clear uf rubbish, and that the 
heai.1- and font-stones are iirm. 

A neat marble liead-st<.>ne lias been [ilaced liere, on -which is the fono\\ing inscription : 

Aji 

U N K N () W" X II I<: R O, 

//(• liiiJ for the cause 

//<• tlioii^^ht was tight. 

The Mtirictta Journal thus toucliini;!)' refers to this memorial: 

^___ " He was some mother's 

(larHiiu;", and [lerhaps when 
the cruel war was over, she 
wiped her lear-bedinimed 
eves and throuuli her specta- 
cles watched for the coming 
of her soldier bov, but he 
came not. Still she prayed 
and gazed down the roa(.l 
and scanned the face of 
every passerdiy; every foot- 
step that sounded on the 
walk her eager ears caught 
up with cxpectancv; her 
heart beat faster and thrilled 
with hope; her eyes kindled 
with joy; her wrinkled face 
lighted up wuh a smile, and 
her old arms, no doubt, in- 
voluntarilv went out t(.) clasp 
to her bosom her darling 
bov; but she was doomed to 
disappointment; it was her 
neighbor's l)oy who had re- 
turned, and not her's; and 
sadly she tin'ned back to her 
old arm chair b\' the window, 
she choked tlown tiie heart 
sobs and cleared away the unbidden tears, and wondered why Iter boy did not come. No tidings 
came of his whereabouts. She did not know that the boy whom she saw proudly leave home in 
his new suit of gray in response to his country's call, at that moment fdled an unknown grave. 
Perhaps, alter many rears of waiting, she too has gone over the river of death, and, with her bov, 
will be a shadowy witness of the erection of the head-stone to the memory of 'An Unknown Hero.' " 




1 -> 



7 



MS, '^^^f^r' - 
4 






THE SOLDIER'S GRAVE. 
On the Western &; Atl.intic Rai]ro:id, in .'\IIaloona Pass. 



Tak'ino- up again the tlirctd of our narrative. General Shcrnitin says of the new positimi 
assumed hi}' the Confederate ai'ni}-. after falling- back from New Hope Church aiul Allatoona : 

" ( )n the Toth da\- of Tm-ie, the whole tcimbined arn-iy niovei.l forward si\ miles to Big Shanty 
a staticHi on the railroad ; whence we had a good view of the enemy's position, which embraced 



JVAJ? SCENES ON THE IF. & A. 39 

three prominent hills, known as Kennesaw, Pine IVIountain and Lost Mountain. On each of these 
hills the enemy had signal stations and fresh lines of parapets. Heavy masses of infantry could 
be distinctly seen with the naked eye, and it was manifest that Johnston had chosen his grcjund well, 
and with deliberation had prepared for battle: but his line was at least ten miles in extent, — too 
long in my judgment to be held successfully by his force, then estimated at sixty thousand. As his 
position, however, gave him a perfect view over our field, we had to proceed with due caution. 
McPherson had the left, following the railroad, which curved around the north base of Kennesaw, 
Thomas, the center, obliqued to the right, deployed below Kennesaw and facing Pine Hill ; and 
Schofield, somewhat refused, was on the general right; looking south, toward I-ost Mountain." — 
(Memoirs, Vol. II., page 51.) 

Early in June, there ^\•as quite a sharp cavalr}- fight near Big Siianty, in which the 
Confederates A\'erc successful. 

During the next few days, the cavalry on both sides \\^as very acti\'c ; there being almost 
constant skirmishing in the neighborhood of tlie railroad. This had been torn up by the 
Confederates, but was rebuilt by the Federals, antl, on the 12th, the Etowah bridge having 
been restored, the Confederates lieard the whistle n( the locomoti\'cs arriving at Big Shanty.* 

The lines of the two armies were constantly being drawn closer to each other, and, by 
tlie 14th of June, it became evident that those of the Confederates were too attenuated 
for them to longer hold Pine Mountain. 

Generals Johnston, Hardee and Polk, accordingly, rode to the top of this mountain, 
which was held by Bate's division, to view the situation, and select some better position. 
Their presence attracted a body of soldiers; and General Sherman, seeing the group, and 
supposing that it might jjossibly be well to scatter them, told General Howard to order tlie 
commander of one of his batteries to fire upon them. General Polk was struck in the 
breast by an une.xploded shell and killed. His death filled the entire South with grief. 

The next morning tliere was a general advance by the Federal army against the Con- 
federate positions, in which Blair's freshl)'-arri\-ed corps of McPherson's army carried a 
spur of the hills, near the railroad, commanding the intrenched line of Hood's skirmishers, 
and forced Hood back behind Noonday Creek. By this movement an entire Alabama 
regiment was surrounded and captured. 

The same morning, Thomas pushed his front sharply to the east of Pine Mountain. 
The Confederate advanced-guard held the trenches connecting their principal lines with 
the mountain, and also some other detached works covering these. Hooker, with his 
corps, assaulted these works, and, after quite a struggle, captured them. He then hurled 
Geary's division against the main line; but here met, in Cleburne, more than his match, 
and, after a very gallant fight, Gear\- \\'as forced to give over the attempt, with a loss 
of several hundred men. 

On the 15th of June, the Confederates abandoned Pine Mountain; and, on the i6th, 
the Federals, having secured possession of some high ground from \\hich their artillery 



* Big Shanty is famous as being the place where occurred the "Capture of a Locomotive," April I2, 1S62. Here, 
about twenty Federal soldiers, in disguise, seized an engine and three cars, and dashed northward, with the intention of 
burning the bridges on the Western & Atlantic Railroad. .-Vfter a hot pursuit they were overtaken and captured near 
Ringgold. The " General." the engine they seized, is still pulling a passenger train on the W. & .\. R. K. 



40 



MO rXTA f.Y CAMJ'AIlJNS IN GEORGIA. 



was able to enfilade a L^nod portion of Hardee's line, and also to sweep the road from 
Gili;al Church to Marietta, for some distance, it -was found necessary to e\-acuate Lost 
M(.)untain also. 

The_\- accordinLjh' fell back to a position on the high grounds east of Mud Creek, about 
one mile west of the western end of Kennesaw Mountain, facing to the west. Their 
extreme left occupied the crest of a steep cliff, on -which General Hardee had planted 
some batteries which commanded the deep, wide valle}' in their front, across the creek. 

I''intling, however, that a portion of their line was exposed to an enfilading fire from 
the P'ederal batteries on the opposite hills, and, the Federal right having been extended 
till it turned Hardee's flank, the Confederates, after obstinate fighting during the 1 8th, in 







v 



%^' 



S'fc*^.- 



>\.S!r.>\_ - 



THE RIFLE-PITS BEFORE KENNESAW. 
Ju?tf, iSb-f. 

which \Yood's and Newton's divisions of Howard's corps captured and iield a portion of 
their outer works, retired to another jjosition, which included the crest of Kennesaw 
Mountain, thence running to its western end, and, from this, southward some three miles. 

General Johnston says of this movement : 

"Another position, includiny; the crest of Kennesaw, was chosen on the 17th, and prepared for 
occupation under the direction of Colonel I'restman. The tr()o|)s were placed on this hue on the 



JVAR SCENES OA' THE 11" 



A. 



41 



' made it difficult to distinguish 



19th: Hood's corps massed between the raih'oad and that from Marietta to Canton; I.oring's, witli 
a division (his own, commanded by Featherston) between the raihoad and eastern base of the 
mountain; and WalthaH's and French's along the crest (if the shurt ridge — French's left reaching 
its southwestern base, and Hardee's from French's left almost due south across the Lost Mountain 
and Marietta Road, to the brow of the high ground immediately north of the branch of Nose's Creek 
that runs from Marietta — Walker's division on the right. Bate's next, then Cleburne's and Cheat- 
ham's on the left." — (Johnstox's Narrative, pages 338, 339.) 

The Federal General Cox also says : 

"The key of the new Confederate line was Kennesaw Mountain, whicii is the summit of the 
watershed, and whose wood-covered sides, breaking down into deep ravines, made an impregnable 
military position, whilst its summit, overlooking the country in all directions, made concealment of 
movements on Sherman's part next to impossible." — (" Atl.\ni a," page 103.) 

During this period, there hail been for over three weeks almost daily rains, which 
raised the streams, and, b\- making the roads nearh' impassable, were a source of great 
annoyance to both armies. On more than one occasion, full-line attacks had been made 
in the mitlst of furious thuiUlerstorms, which, it is saic 
between the discharges of artillery, at close quarters, and the rattling thundei 

During this same period, also, there was daily skirmishing between th 
armies from one end of the line to the other, and, while the 
sun shone, there was scarce!)' an hour in which one could not 
hear the incessant " pop," " pop " 
of musketry, from the rifle-pits, (,> 

which dotted the hillsides and 
woody valleys, or 

the trees, fences, or any species viy^,-,,i/- ■■ .,,y, ,;;^ ..— • __^,/^- 
of cover which the combatants 

could secure. This frequently lasted until far into the night, when the continuous flashes 
of light in the forest simulated the appearance of myriads of iire-flies. The losses by both 
armies, from this species of warfare, were heavier than in the main engagements. 

On the 20th, the most considerable cavalry fight of the campaign occurred, on the 
Confederate right, between the commands of Wheeler and Garrard. The P'ederals were 
worsted in this affair, and lost two standards, etc. 

The Federal army, during this same period, was making constant extensions south- 
ward, which forced corresponding movements by the Confederates. 

Hood's corps was transferred from the Confederate right to their extreme left ; and 
Johnston ordered Hood to endeavor to prevent any progress of Sherman's right toward 
the railroad, the latter and the Confederate intrenchments being nearly parallel, and 
scarcely more than three miles apart. General Johnston says, "Our position, con- 
sequently, was a very hazardous one." 

During this same period the Confederates were placing batteries upon the twm crests 
of Kennesaw Mountain. Big Kennesaw, the higher of the two, runs up into a peak about 
six or seven hundred feet above the surrounding countr_\-, affording room for only a few 
guns. Little Kennesaw, on the contrar\-, consists of a commanding ridge, extending for 




42 MO UNl'AIX CAMPAIGXS I\ C^liORd/A. 

from seven liundred to a thousand feet, before the descent begins at eacli end : .md is a 
magnificent position for artillen'. General French, \\ hose division coxered this ritlge, on 
about the 20th of the month, planted t\\ent\- guns upon it. The road leading to the crest 
being difificult of ascent, and exposed to the fire of the l^'ederal batteries on the neighbor- 
ing heights, the Confederates, after some search, found a rcnite behintl the mountain, up 
which the_\' dragged the guns b\' ropes (prolongues). This labor was undertaken late 
in the evening, and continued through the night, and, b\- da\-light next morning, (iuibo's 
and Ward's batteries w ere ])lanted on Little Kennesaw, behind strongh- constructed works, 
lloskins's batter)- ^\■as also placed on the descending slope of the western end of the ridge, 
to comm.md the approaches to the infantry line farther down. The timber growth on 
the mountain concealed these from the view of the Federals. 

On the m()rning of the Jjd, a furious bombardment was opened, from these batteries, 
upon the Federal camps and intrenchments, in the fields and forests below, which com- 
pelled a disorderlv retreat to the rear by the wagon trains, etc., and greatly annoyed the 
forces manning the breastworks. Towartls night the Confederates opened these guns again 
upon their enem\-; and at eleven P. M. the bombardment was renewed. In the darkness 
this is said to have presented a magnificent spectacle to those on the surrounding hills 
and \'alle\-s, the flashes of light, and the glare on the rising clouds of smoke, seeming to 
crown the loicll}- mountain with a tiara of fire. 

Within the ne.xt day or so, General Sherman, it is stated, brought 120 guns to 
bear against this position, which number was increased later to 140. From these the 
bombardment of the batteries on the crest of the mountain is said to have been terrific, 
and to li.ue \'irtually silenced the Confederate guns. The top of the ridge was co\'ered 
with trees anil limbs felled by the shells. Thousands of these passed high over the 
mountain, ex[)loding in the air; or, falling in the forest, spread destruction almost amid 
the very suburbs of iM.uietta. 

On the 22d of June, occurred quite a hot fight between Hood's corps, and Schofield's 
and Hooker's trooiJS. The Federals attacked the Confederates, but were repulsed. The 
latter, in turn, attemjated to carr\- the I'eder.al position; but, after seizing a line of breast- 
works, suffered a severe repulse. 

In an assault ujion an intrenched battery, on a high, bare hill, they were driven back, 
after a blo(_>tly fight, with a loss of about i,ooomen. This is usualh' known as the battle 
of Kulp's (or, more propeily, Kolb's, 1 Farm. 

The general situation at .djout this period is well summarized in a dispatch from 
General Sherman to Cieneral llalleck, dated June 23d: 

" We cunlinue to jtress forward on the principle of an advance against fortified positions. 
The whole country is one vast fort, and Johnstt)n must have at least fifty miles of connected 
trenches with abatis and fniished batteries. \\'e gain ground daily, fighting all the time. * * * 
Our lines are now in close contact, and the fighting is incessant, with a good deal of artillery fire. As 
fast as we gain one position the enemy has another all ready, but 1 think he will soon have to let go 
Kennesaw, which is the key to the whole country. The weather is now better, and the roads are 
dr\-ing up fast." — (Memoirs, Vol. II., pages 59, 60.) 



WAR SC£iVES ON THE ]V. & A. 43 

It is not improper to state here that the country arouiul Kcnnesaw Mountain, New 
Hope Church and Allatoona, is broken up into nunicious tletached hills and irregular 
ridges; di\-ided b_\- ra\"incs or narrow valle\'s. It was impossible, therefore, for an army, 
largely outnumbered, to procure an\" line of defence, several miles long, which would be, 
at all points, strong, inasmuch as its enem\-, apart from the power to turn its flanks, could 
also find numerous high places in its immediate front overlooking and commanding its 
positions across the occasional \'allc_\-s ; while the thick cover of the forests and under- 
growth veiled the movements of troops, being massed for a rush upon its weak points, or 
for the attack upon steep hills, whose armed occupants were, b_\' the nature of the ground, 
even sometimes in the middle of the line, isolated from necessary support. 

While in nowise detracting, therefore, from the braver)- and fortitude of the Federal 
soldiery, which certainl}' won its laurels in this momentous and picturesque campaign, yet 
the masterly skill and strategic genius displayed by Johnston in handling his army, which 
was faced and flanked in this craggy wilderness b)' a force which had two muskets to its 
one, and the cheerful endurance and persistent courage of his men, and their enthusiastic 
devotion to and cimfidence in their commander, were almost wonderful. 

On the 24th of June, a \ery vigorous attack was made upon Hardee's position, imme- 
diately southwest of Kennesaw Mountain. On the next day a portion of Hood's corps, on 
the Confederate left, was likewise assaulted ; but, in each instance, the Federals were repulsed. 

These daily combats, and extensions of the I'edcral lines, also, made those of the 
Confederates so long, and so harrassed them, that there was serious danger of the 
Federals breaking through at some weak point. Sherman, with his preponderance of num- 
bers, was evidently aiming to accomplish this very result, if possible. In fact, he says: 

"During the 24th and 25th of June (General Schofield extendetl his right as far as prudent, so 
as to compel the enemy to thin out his lines correspondingly, with the intention to make two strong 
assaults at points where success would give us the greatest advantage. * * * j reasoned that 
if we could make a breach anywhere near the rebel centre, and thrust in a strong head of column, 
that with the one moiet}' of our army we could hold in check the corresponding wing of the enemy, 
and with the other sweep in Ikmk and overwhelm the other half." — (Mkmoirs, Vol. II., page 60.) 

At about ten o'clock in the morning of the 25th. the Cinifederatc batteries on the 
crest of Kennesaw openetl fire iqjon the Federals. The latter replied furiousl}-, and for 
an hour there was a grand artillery duel. This was renewed during the afternoon, and was 
a majestic spectacle : but the damage to bi:>th sides was small. 

General h'rench thus graphically describes the situation on this date: 

"From the top of the mountain the vast panorama is ever changing. There are now large 
trains to the left of Lost Mountain anil at Big Shantv. and wagons are moving to and fro every- 
where. Encampments of hospitals, quartermasters, commissaries, cavalry, and infantry whiten the 
plain here and there as far as the eye can reach. Our side of the line looks narrow, poor, and life- 
less, with but little canvass in spots that contrasts with the green foliage. 

" The usual flank extension is going on. Troops on both sides move to left, and now the blue 
smoke of the musket discloses the line by day trending away, far away south toward the Chatta- 
hoochee, and by night it is marked, at times, by the red glow of the artillery, amidst the spark-like 
fiash of small arms that looks in the distance like innumerable fire-thes." 



44 



IMO UN TA IN CA M PA IGNS IN GE OR G I A. 



After these preliniiiiar\- contests, which severely tested the bravery and endurance of 
both armies, on tile 27th of June, 1.S64, occurretl the great and famous battle of Kennesaw 
Mountain: which was ])robabI\- the <Jistincti\e battle between Dalton and Atlanta, of the 
Atlanta campaign — a battle which will e\er h.old its p(.isition, on the page of history, as 
Lieing i^me which confei'red imjjerishable lustre upon the valor of American soldiery— the 
attack being matle \\\\\\ vigor, pluck and persistence. a\ hich in themseh'es eminently 
deserved success, and being met with such courage and fortitude as alone could ha\'e 
made the efforts of their antagonists futile. 

Of this memorable struggle, the two commanding Generals summarize as folh:nvs: 

" In the morning of the 27tli, after a furious cannonatle, the I'ederal army made a general 
assault upon the Confederate position, — which was received everywhere with fn-nmess, and repelled 

with a Inss to the assailants enor- 
mously tlispro[)ortionate to that which 
they inlli(t(xl. .At several points the 
characteristic fortitude of the North- 
western soldiers held them under a 
close and destructive fire long after 
reasonable hope of success was gone. 
The attack ujion I.oring's corps was 
by the .\rmy of Tennessee ; that upon 
Hardee's by the Army of the Cum- 
tierland. The principal ellorts of the 
enemy were directeil against Loring's 
right and left brigades, and the left 
of Hardee's corps."- -( Johnston's 
N.VRR.MivE, jiage 341.) 

"About 9 .\. M. of the day 
a|)pointed the troojis moved to the 
assault, and all alon;;' our lines tor 
ten nules a furious \\xii ot artillery 
and nuisketry was kept up. .\t all 
points the enemy met us with deter- 
nuued courage and in great force. 
.McPherson's attacking eolunui fought 
up the face of the lesser Kennesaw. but could not reach the summit. About a mile to the right 
(just below the 1 )allas Road) Thomas's assaulting colunni reached the parapet, where Brigadier- 
General Harker was shot ilown, mortally wounded, and Brigadier-Cieneral McCook (my old law 
partner) was desperately wounded, from the effects of which he afterwards died. liv 11.30 the 
assault was in fart over, and had failed. We had not broken the rebel line at either point, but our 
assaulting columns held their ground within a few yards of the rebel trenches, and there covered 
themselves with piarapet." — (Shkr.man's J\lK,\n)iKS, Vol. H., pages 60, 61.) 

It would be hard to attempt to go into details of this masterl_\- combat without being 
betra)'ed into a requisition for \er_\- much more space than this little publication will admit. 

The attempt upmi the Confederate right, which 1 ly east of Kennesaw Mountain, 
runidng across the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and n(n-th of the present station, 




MATTHEViS. HC-FiII 





'>^//^ E (/^fTiHy 



vVAR CrOYERNOR OF GEOFL&IA 



ir.lK SCENES ON THE \V. &■ A. 45 

Elizabctli, to tlie hills, some hundreds of }-ards be_\-ond, was b\- Logan's corps, formed in 
three lines, and supported b_\- Blair and Dodge, with their respective corps, a portion of 
which fronted the mountain also, and made strong demonstrations against it, accompanying 
them with heavy and constant firing. They first fell upon Nelson's (Twelfth Louisiana) 
regiment, which occupied a strong line of rifie-pits, six hundred yards in front of the main 
intrenchments. These held their ground, keeping up a hot fusilade, until the first Federal 
ranks had approached within twenty-five paces, and then hastily retired to the Confederate 
line of battle. 

The Federal troops advanced steadily, and soon came within musket shot of 
Featherston's entire front. A destructive fire was here opened upon them from the 
intrenchments, which compelled a halt; but, taking position in the forest, amid the tangled 
undergrowth, they kept, in return, a furious fire upon the Confederates. The batteries 
upon the mountain, and those located along Featherston's lines, poured forth a terrific 
storm of shot and shell upon their front and flanks. For almost an hour they gamely held 
their position, unable to advance and reluctant to retreat ; but, at length, having lost 
se\-en commanding ofificers of regiments and hundreds of men, some of them within 
thirt)' feet of the Confederates' principal works, Logan ordered his men to retire to the 
line of rifle-pits they had first captured. 

During this same time an impetuous assault was made upon Wheeler's troops, and 
Ouarles's brigade of Walthall's division, in front of and upon the mountain, in the shelter 
of rifie-pits. A body of Federals charged into Ouarles's rifle-pits, \\'here most of them 
were killed or captured. Many of the Federals, also, were picked off by the Confederate 
skirmishers, firing from behind trees, rocks, etc., on the side of the mountain. These were 
scattered irregular])' among the crags and forest growth below the Confederate breast- 
works : but high enough above the field to command a full \-iew over it, and the Federal 
advance, which is said to ha\-e been made by a portion of Blair's corps. 

Against the lesser Kenncsaw there was a heavy demonstration and hot fire main- 
tained in front ; and a very \-igorous charge was made upon the western end of the 
mountain, which was held by French's division. 

The attack upon Cockrell's Missouri brigade, which occupied the extreme west of the 
ridge, on French's left, \\as very determined and impetu(_ius — the Federal advance driving 
in the skirmishers, and pressing resolutely forward till within about twent\- paces of the 
Confederate line; but here it was met by a cool steadiness which checked and finally 
repulsed it. This attempt was principally b\- Howard's corps, under the cover of the 
concentration of about fifty field-pieces, which, bursting forth from battery to battery, 
were bombarding the Confederate position with terrible fury. The assailing columns like- 
wise advanced rapidly from the west, and dashed fiercely through the skirmishers on 
Walker's right, immediately south of the mountain, taking in reverse those on the right 
and left, while the\- were also being attacked in front. Within a few minutes about eighty 
of Walker's men, it is said, had been bayoneted or captured in their rifle-pits. 

Walker's line was assaulted with great vigor; but here, in addition to the musketry 
fire from his front, the Federals were enfiladed by that of the Confederate batteries on 



4G MOi'NTAI.X CAMPAIGXS IX GEORGIA. 

little Kcnncsa'\\", some of tlic pjuns of wliich General French had rolled back from facing 
north, and turneil iipdii them. Tliis tem])est of bombshells, grape and canister, within a 
short time, dnue tjiem back, and relie\ed WalJser from the attack. 

An exciting episotle of the battle here occurred when a schrapiiel shot, •\\itii a smoking 
fuse, passed untler the headlog, ami fell among the men in the ditch. A stampede instantly 
commenced, in the midst (if which a Georgia sergeant leapetl forward, seized the projectile, 
aiul threw it out of the trenches, where the explosion did no harm. 

\W\\. the most determined and powerful assault was made b_\- Palmer's corps of the 
Arm\' of the Cumljerland, with Hooker in reser\'e, and with such other support as could 
be spared, upon the intrenchments held by Cheatham's and Cleburne's divisions, which 
extended through the rolling country south of the mountain. The Federal troops, several 
lines deep, conscious of their \er_\- decided superiorit}' in numbers, pressed forward, with 
bayonets glistening and banners wa\'ing, and with wild cheers, through the fcjrest, \\ hich was 
badly tangled \\'\X\\ undergrowth, until the\- came almost to the Confederate fortifications. 

Here an ajipalling fire was ojjened upon them from ,ill along the works. By 
Cleburne's troojjs, particularly, they were permitted to approach within nearly twenty 
paces before a gim was fired. Then, there burst forth from beneath the headlogs a fearful 
sheet of flame and smoke, and, at one or two points, almost the entire Federal column 
was prostrated by the \dlley. 

Succeeding this murderous .sweep of death, there arose from behind the intrenchments 
a wild and piercing sound. It was the "rebel \-ell." Often, ere this, had it been heard on 
the fields of strife; but ne\'er liefore liad it smote the ears of those whom it now greeted 
\\\\\\ more daring defiance than in this minute of horror and blood. Abo\'e the r(.>ar of 
battle, clear and shrill, it rang out, and again and }'et again was it re-echoed from the 
mountain crags back to the wood)' recesses of the plain. 

Like an inspiration from the genii of ruin, it seemed to arouse those from whose 
throats it leaped forth, to more than mortal energy; and now, from ten thousand muskets, 
antl from a score of cannon there jjoured forth an incessant blaze, which scattered 
carnage and death for hundreds of ^'artls arountl. 

This storm i}f missiles from the earthwurks in front was so destructi\'e that fvuther 
advance was impossible. The ground and the forest were torn up by musket balls, grape 
and canister, solid shot, and exploding bombs. From h'rench's batteries on the crest of 
Kennesa\\', also, a furious bombardment was directed upon them. .So continuous and 
rai)id was this th.it the mountain seemed liter.ilh- on fire; and the murk\' clouds of smoke, 
enveloping its summit, antl rising majesticall}- toward the heavens, combined with the 
tumultuous roar from their midst, presented, in terrific grandeur, the \'eritable appearance 
of a \dlcanic eruption : while the air, above antl amund the assaulting columns, was obscured 
by the puffs of smoke from the bursting shells, which hurled their fragments in a thousand 
directions among the Federal ranks, or, screaming through the forest, tore whole trees to 
pieces, scattering the branches with swaths of destruction on e\'er\' side. 

The Federal troops, dreadfully scourged, lay down upon the ground, within range of 
the nun"derous musketr)' fire of their enem\-, and sought all the shelter possible, in the 



WAR SCENES ON T EI E \V. cV- A. 47 

meantime pouring back volley after volley in return ; and finally intrenched themselves 
beneath this fearful tempest — it being safer to remain than to flee. 

Once, under General Marker's leadership, they attempted to renew the assault ; but, 
almost at the very parapet, Marker fell, mortally wounded, and the whnlc line was swept 
back before the awful iron hail which was poured into their faces. At one or two points 
the charging columns pressed forward to the very ditches before the breastworks, and some 
of their dead were found against the works themselves. 

The fall of General Marker was greatly deplored by officers and men alike. Gallant, 
dashing and generous, he had conspicuously distinguished himself on every field of battle 
from Chickamauga to Kennesaw inclusive; and, of all the field officers in the Federal army, 
was probably more admired for plucky courage, and more highly esteemed for genial, 
sociable personal tr.iits, than an)' of his comrade leaders. 

In the midst of the mclcc attending this last dash, a United States flag was planted 
on Cheatham's works. A Confederate captain instantly sprang to the top to gain possession 
of this. The Federal color-bearer faced him bravely, and a hand-to-hand struggle ensued 
between the two over the flag, which resulted in the Tennesseean's being shot dead by his 
antagonist. But the next instant a dozen bullets, fired from within the intrenchments, 
riddled the intrepid color-bearer, and he fell, slain, with his hand tightly clasped around 
the staff of the banner he had defended so well ; but which now became the trophy of the 
exultant Confederates. 

Near this same point a Confederate sergeant leaped over the works, seized the standard 
of the 27th Illinois regiment, wrested it from the bearer, and brought it triumphantly back 
with him. For this daring act General Mardee presented the flag to its captor. 

Just after the repulse of this second desperate assault, the dry leaves, etc., in the forest, 
before the Confederate intrenchments, were set on fire by the bombshells and gun-wadding, 
and began burning rapidly around the Federal wounded. This horrible scene was observed 
by the Confederates, who were ordered instantly to cease firing, and one of their com- 
manders called to the Federals, and stated that, as an act of humanity, his men would 
suspend further battle until the assailants could carry off their wounded, who were in 
danger of being burnt alive. The oft'er was accepted, and the Federal wounded were 
rescued from the awful fate which threatened them ; and then the combat was renewed 
by the two sides with the most determined zeal. 

In the meantime, along the entire line for miles, there was maintained between both 
armies a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry. From the crest of Kennesaw Mountain, 
this is said to have presented an imposing panorama. General French sa\-s of it. 

" We sat there, perhaps an hour, enjoying a bird's-eye view of one of the most magnificent 
sights ever allotted to man — to luok down upon an hundred and fifty tiiousand men arrayed in the 
strife of battle on the plain below. As the infantry closed in the blue smoke of the musket marked 
out our line for miles, while over it, rose in cumuli-like clouds the white smuke of the artillery. 
Through the rifts of smoke, or, as it was wafted aside by the wind, we could see the assault made 
on Cheatham, and there the struggle was hard, and there it lasted longest. So many guns were 
trained on those by our side, and so incessant was the roar of cannon and the sharp explosion 



48 



JlfOUNTAIN CAI\f/\lIGNS IN GEORGIA. 



of sliclls, that nauLjht else coukl he licaril. * * * The battle, in its entirety,, became a pageantry 
on a grand scale, anil barren of results, because the .attacking columns were loo small in nuniliers, 
considering the character of the troops they knew they \\'ould encounter." 

In this yrcat stru_g;gie the Federal ami}' numbered about or o\'er lOO.ooo men, the 
Confederates had about 55,000 engagred ; the Confederate loss, in killed, \\()unded and 
missing-, was S08 men ; that of the I'V'derals has never been exact!)' reported, IjLit it is 
conceded that it went up into the tjiousantls. 

Sherman's generals, after some three Jiours, withdrew their shattered b.ittalioiis Irom 
nearl)' all the points of assault, and, for one time, there was a confessed failure of a great 
mo\-e in tlie campaign. 

But wasting no time in idle regrets, the Federal commander ordered a strong move- 
ment down tile \-alley of Ollcy's Creek, toward the Chattahoochee. 

June 29th, lie wired General Halleck in reference to this: " I am accumulating stores 
that will enable me to cut loose from the railroad for a time and a\'oid the Kennesaw Hill, 
which gives the enemy too much advantage." 




Juh' 1st, he again wired him : " By this movement, I think I can force y(^linston to 
move his whole ami)' out from Kennesaw to defend his railroad and the Chattalniochee, 
when I \\ill (I))' the left flank-) reach the railroad below Marietta." 

Johnston, however, seeing that this moxenient towards the south woidd result in 
breaking his communications with Atlanta, ex'acuatetl Kennesaw^ Mountain and i\'Iarietta 
during the 1st and 2d of Jul)', the last columns withdrawing in the night of the latter. 

While the ex'acuation was going on, under General Johnston's orders, a terrific bom- 
bardment of the I'ederal positions w.is maintained from the batteries on the crest of the 
mountain, with the idea of distracting the atteiitiini of the Federals, and leading to the 
belief that possibl)' a sortie was contemplatetl from some portion of the Confederate lines. 

During the afternoon of July 2d, the Confederates withdrew their guns from 
Keiines.iw Mountain. Major Storrs, of General I'"rencli's command, wliC) was in partial 
chai'ge, describes this feat as follows: 

"It had been predicted that our !)atteries could not he safely withdrawn in case of retreat. 
An order came one dav to remove them between suntlown and dark; or else spike the guns and 
destroy the carriages. Routes were trimmed out straight dt)wn immediately in rear of each section, 
and everv gini arrived at the base of the mountain liy dark, without attracting a single shot from 
the eneniv. We had been keeping our embrasures coveretl with brush to conceal our movements 
when |)reparing to deliver a shot, so that evervthing was hidden. On the left, the upper part of a 



WAR SC£N£S ON THE W. & A. 



49 



man's body while standing, could be seen by the enemy, ami so Lieutenants Harris and Murphy, 
of Guibo's battery, with their men, crawled on their hands and knees while withdrawing the left 
section and lowered those two pieces over a declivity liy means of ropes." 

From Marietta, Johnston fell back to a new jiosition, which had been prepared by 
Colonel Prestman. This consisted of what General Sherman calls one of the strongest 
pieces of field fortification he ever saw. It ran from the Chattahoochee River, south of 
the Western & Atlantic Railroad, up through the hill country, across it, thence joining the 
river again some two or three miles above, — its entire length being several miles. 

Sherman thought that in the 
hurry of evacuation Johnston's 
army would be in considerable 
confusion; hence, pressed his col- 
umns forward with great energy, 
to crush the Confederates, if possi- 
ble ; but it was soon demonstrated 
that Johnston had prepared 
against this very contingency by 
throwing up a long east and west 
line of intrenchments, which cross- 
ed the railroad at Ruff's Station, 
and also another, crossing it at 
Smyrna. These delayed the Fed- 
erals so very much that the pursuit 
accomplished nothing in the re- 
sults Sherman wished. 

Sherman's opinion of John- 
ston's shrewdness and forethought 
in this matter was expressed in a 
dispatch, wherein he said: "We • 

ought to have caught Johnston on his retreat, but he hafl prepared the way too well." 

There «as a sharp fight at the works at Ruff's, July '},^\ ; antl the 4th of Jid\- was 
celebrated by quite a struggle at the intrenchments at Smyrna, in -which the Federals 
were repulsed. General Noyes of Ohio here lost his leg, and General Sherman says: 
" I came ver)- near being shot myself." The Federals, howex'er, made a strong demonstra- 
ti(_)n against the line near the Chattahoochee; but, being met by a heavv' fire, were 
compelled to draw off. 

During the next few days, with a strong array confronting the Confederate 
fortifications, se\'eral columns were also thrown out b_\- Sherman, north and south of 
Johnston's position, for a number of miles each way, which resulted in securing the 
possession of one or two crossings over the Chattahoochee. Accordingly, after some 
fighting at several points, Johnston evacuated this position, and crossed the Chattahoo Aee 
River, burning the railroad Ijiidge. 




\ 



.->() 



JlIO rXTA fX CJJ//'A/G\yS IN GEORGIA. 



The two armies, nnw almost in the suburbs of Atlanta, bcLjan preparing for A\hat 
would ha\-e been a tedious siege, when, on the 17th of Jul}-, General Johnston was relieved 
of the command of the ai-niy, and General Hood appointed to succeed him. 

This change of commanders b_\- the Confederate go\eniment amounted to a change of 
programme; and Sherman, being almost intuiti\el_\' aware of it, changed his tactics 

accordingly, and, instead of assaulting or making offensive 
movements against the Confederate lines, assumed a 
strong position on Peachtree Creek, northward of Atlanta. 
On the 20th of July, General Hood made an impetu- 
ous assault upon the P'ederal .iriii\-; but the Confederates 
were worsted in the battle, and sustained considerable loss. 
The hea\-_\- battle of the 22d of Jul)-, between Atlanta 
and Decatur, in ,\liich General AlcPherson and tlie Con- 
federate General Walker were killed, gained no advantage 
to the Confederates; nor did the battle of Ezra Church, 
on the 2,Sth of Jul)-. 

The mistake w hich was made in removing tlie pru- 
dent and sagacious Johnston, and abandoning his Fabian 
tactics, substituting therefor an aggressive policy by an 
army which had scarcely more tlian half its enemy's numbers, is one which, in the present 
da\-, finds almost no one to defend it. 




" ]!ut turn the page, let War's dread name 

lie biuied with his dead; 
O'er every scar let peaceful Fame 

Her downy mantle spread: 
Beat into useful plowshares now 

The once blood-dripping sword. 
Ami from eac h counril-i liamlier vow 

'J'o banish fierce discord ! " 

So let us cease the recital of the deeds of strife and of ruin, wliich, over twenty )'ears 
ago, were enacteil i,\'ith the tlumtler of cannon, the ■\\a\'ing of b.mners, and all the 
"gorgeous panoply of war," amid the craggy mountains, antl forest-co\-ered hills and 
valle)-s, and b)- the rushing rivers of North Georgia. Migh in the Temple of Fame glitter 
the names of Chickaniauga, Ringgold, Resaca, Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain and 
Atlanta, and of the heroes, who, ai'ouuil them, fought for their L'nion, their cause, and 
their Hag. Whether mistaken or true were their teachings let us presunie not to judge. 
Sufficient it is th.it o\cr two hundred thousand men, upon these fields of carnage, bared 
their breasts to sustain their con\icti(ins, and eight)--eight thousand shed their blood in 
defence of what the)- th(.iught was right. 

The long struggle is ended ; the wail of humiliation is liuslied, and the huzza of proud 
triu 5h is o\er ; the c\-ioress lias draped the coffins of the x.uKiuished, and the laurel has 
crc ed the \'ictor's brow. 



\ 



